Name: Everett Minnick
From: Las Vegas, Nevada
Votes: 0
The issue that
plagues virtually every teen is that unshakable feeling, that pride,
that is ingrained in every teens mind: that flawed logic that they
will never be the one something bad happens to. That they will never
become on of the 16, on average, teens that die on the roads every
day. That they will never be one of the 34,000 that travel on the
roads to never make it to their destination. That those are just
statistics and numbers, and not actual people that make up those
statistics. Teens have become disassociated with the dangerous and
often life ending consequences of irresponsible driving.
The number of
deaths on the road could be dramatically reduced by associating
dangerous driving with consequences and statistics. This is done in
part by educating drivers before they take on the roads. People
should be educated and understand that statistics are more than just
numbers but people: that people are dying every day on the roads.
This, of course, isn’t a perfect solution, and experience is still
the best teacher for road safety, but if people can understand how
dangerous the roads are, they are a little more prepared to enter the
roadways.
Frequently, when
driving as a passenger with friends, I become a subject to
irresponsible dangerous driving: being a subject to driving 100 miles
per hour down the interstate, doing donuts in a parking lot, or
peeling out of a neighborhood. The scariest thing about these
dangerous isn’t the consequences, but the lack of consequences.
When it is so easy to drive like that, without receiving
consequences, it just reinforces the ideology that they will never
become one of the statistics. It is so easy to drive recklessly, when
it is so easy to get away consequence free. That is the scariest
part: that most of the time consequences don’t follow. This leads to
the question, that dangerous question that so many teens ask
themselves: “Why should I follow the rules of the road, when I am
more than likely not going to have any consequences?”.
The moment somebody
asks themselves this question, is the moment when they become a
hazard on the road. They create an invincibility complex for
themselves, and believe that they will never become one of those
statistics. By taking the time to recognize that statistics are more
than just numbers, but people, we are helping to create a better road
for everyone. Don’t become part of the statistics of the road, and
drive safe.
