The Wheel of Misfortune

“The Wheel of Misfortune”

One of the most
liberating events of a person’s is the gifting or purchasing of
their very first car. The ownership of a motor vehicle places us on
cloud 9 making us feel like we are on top of the world and for some,
the law. Thankfully there is a such thing as drivers ed to not
only teach new drivers the rules of the road but also arm them with
the knowledge to not become a part of the 45% of car related deaths.
Strangely, the most memorable part of drivers ed for me was not
the traffic sign or long our in the sun trying to drive an old car
but instead it was the incredibly disturbing videos we were shown.
Seeing videos and pictures of people no older than me dead because
their recklessness or that of a friend really inserted fear and
respect into me. It has done the same for millions around the world
proving on a daily that safe drivers exist.

Of course, with
the safe drivers there are reckless drivers, and this is the cause of
many car related deaths. A few steps that could be taken are
increasing enforcement of road laws, requiring more proof of
knowledge to be demonstrated before awarding a driver’s license,
and require more regulatory retests to keep your license. I think by
implementing these steps we can decrease the number of deaths related
to driving.

I myself have
never been in a car accident but I have seen family members drive
irresponsibly. When seeing this I was always told “when you’ve
been driving as long as I have, you know what you are doing,” but I
have always failed to see the logic in that. They all seemed to
justify their actions by how long they’ve been driving using it as
a get out of jail free card when it comes to acknowledging the wrongs
and ignorance of their actions.

As a new driver,
I know I have a way to go before I am the best/safest driver I can
be. Some steps I can take towards becoming that driver are making
sure I always follow the rules of the road, speaking up whenever I
see someone being reckless or putting others in danger, overall doing
the best I can to drive safe every time I get behind a wheel, and not
allowing it to become wheel of misfortune.