You are not alone

Kaitlyn
Carroll

You
are not alone

You
are young. You are hormonal. You are searching for yourself. You are
seeking independence, and you hope that driving will provide that for
you. You have passed the DMV’s test, so you feel entitled to be on
the road, and you feel confident with your driving skills; However,
you must be warned. Lean in close and you can be told the ultimate
secret of driving- you are not alone.

On
the road you are not alone. Depending where you are driving there
could be anywhere from one to one hundred cars around you. You must
remember that inside each and everyone of those cars there is at
least one person. That person is just as deep and complex as you are.
They are not a background character in your movie. They are living
breathing humans. Now, some cars might even have a whole family
inside. This car may contain: A mother who deeply loves her children,
a standup father who does everything for the children strapped in the
back of the car, and the innocent children babbling about who is
right and who is wrong. The mother in that car is just like you-
human. She makes mistakes, gets distracted, and causes accidents. Be
aware of the people around you on the road. Don’t be the one who
puts a family in the hospital, because you were looking at your
phone.

In
1885 the first car was invented, and ever since it has been a
dangerous contraption. More people die in car wrecks than the war in
iraq , but hardly ever do you see a mother desperately cling to her
child with tears in her eyes when the child is given a car, and this
is because when rational thought is applied to the situation the
mother realizes: In the majority of modern America the child will
need to drive frequently. Driving is ingrained into our society,
unless you live in a city you will need to drive, so keep in mind the
rules of the road and the safest way to drive. For starters, never
ever use your phone while driving. One missed email, phone call, or
text is not worth yours or someone else’s life. You are young, so of
course you want to drive and be with your friends, but keep in mind:
every extra minor you add to the car increases your chance of being
in a car wreck. So if it is not for your sake, for your parent’s
sake do not pack your car with your friends. Before driving around
any kids or friends tell them what you feel comfortable with. If
driving with the radio is too much of a distraction for you, tell
them! Do not feel ashamed of keep them safe. Eventually as you get
more practice you will be able to cope with noises better. If you
have younger siblings that fight all the time in the car, make it
clear to your siblings that will not fly in your car, and if all else
fails tell them there is a dragon in the engine that eats
argumentative kids. Please, do not push yourself. Only you know your
limit of what you can handle in your seat. Thirdly, no cop is going
to care if the seat belt digs into your collarbone. Everyone in the
car needs to buckle up when driving! Let’s continue discussing some
implied rules of the road. If you can’t see on a road, go a
manageable speed so you can effectively stop the car. If it is
raining or snowing and the roads are slick, don’t be afraid to
decrease your speed your boss or your friends can wait an extra five
minutes for you. Do not oversteer. Squirrels and cats are not worth a
car wreck! obviously , you should try to avoid running over small
creatures, but you and your surroundings passengers are worth more
than a racoon, so do not swerve out of your lane to avoid them. That
will only put you at risk for being in a head on collision. Lastly,
use your blinkers. It is better to overly inform other drivers than
leaving them in the dark. This has been a very long lecture on things
that are common sense, but for just a moment let me inform you on
some things that you may not be aware of. Sitting too close to your
steering wheel can be dangerous. If you are an accident and the
airbag goes off while you are directly in front of the steering
wheel, it can do more harm than good. Secondly, Back road driving
can be just a dangerous as highway driving. Backroads often have
unexpected complications such as: tree branches, deer, curvy roads,
and residential lots. So all I am saying is- be cautious when taking
the back way.

Before
I let you go, I want to tell you that this was not me trying to
reinvent the wheel. I believe if you pay attention to the road, you
can be a safe effective driver. This prolonged lecture is endearing
and maternal. Luckily, I have not been in an accident where I have
been driving, but someone very close to me, and I will not name
names, have been in many accidents due to carelessness. He got
himself several dui’s, he drove his children in his car under the
influence, and even after all that he continued to not be safe on the
road by biking on busy roads, while not following the rules of the
road, which ultimately led to him getting hit by car. I will urge you
one more time: Be safe, pay attention, do not be careless, understand
there are people around you, and never ever drink in drive, for you
newly independent, you are just finding yourself, you are hormonal,
and you are young! Be safe because you have so much life left to
live! Don’t give up on yourself by being an idiot behind the wheel.