Name: Nathalie Charles
From: Mercerville, New Jersey
Votes: 0
My
first time behind the wheel I was in third grade. I was unusually
hyper that morning and as I waited impatiently at the front door for
my mom to find her car keys and drive me to school I decided to
instead run down my porch steps to the driver’s door of her
minivan. As my mom stepped out of the front door I shouted for her to
open the door and she laughed as she did. I climbed into the driver’s
seat and imitated the sound of race cars as I attempted to turn the
steering wheel, when my mom reached the car she asked me where I was
going so fast. “I wanna drop you off at work mommy, you always drop
me off at school!” I answered. My mom smiled as she lifted me out
of the seat and glibly slid open the door to the backseat.
In
films like the Jackie Chan staple “Rush Hour” driving has been
portrayed as always having to be fast and exciting, not something
that can change the entire course of your life with one forgotten
blinker. I have loved ones who have been in car accidents that
completely totaled their cars and only by some miracle had not taken
their lives. My older brother is particularly prone to car accidents,
he lives life fast and exciting and being in the car with him is
reminiscent of being dragged onto Nitro at Six Flags for the very
first time. One day, he was driving to work in the rain at a speed
rate I’m sure even Vin Diesel would envy and he flipped his car on
a ramp. He broke through the metal barrier and toppled down a muddy
slope. He totaled my mother’s new car but somehow walked away from
the accident with only a banged up knee, my mother swears it was
because she was praying for him in church that day. However, everyone
who is on the road doesn’t always have someone praying for them and
that is why we are so fortunate to enjoy comprehensive driver’s
education. At my school we are privileged to have evening classes for
drivers ed that are an hour and a half and go through
highly thorough material starting our sophomore year. Having
comprehensive drivers ed is imperative in the fight to make
the roads safer for all and reducing driving related casualties. I
think starting drivers ed as early as eighth grade could be
helpful in producing drivers that are comfortable and knowledgeable
with the rules of the road. I also think having community service
required of a person after breaking a rule of the road instead of
just a ticket would be more effective because for some people a $60
fine is nothing, but for everyone time is the most precious resource
we have and may have people thinking twice before speeding.Personally
as I prepare to take my permit test and later hit the roads I plan to
study diligently and create a culture of safety awareness for not
only me but my friends as well driving doesn’t need to resemble
“Rush Hour” to be fun. Driving is freedom, so let’s make it a
freedom we can all enjoy free from fear.
