Name: Cassidy Vanepps
From: Kaukauna, WI
Votes: 0
Cassidy Vanepps
July 10th, 2019
You Never Think
It Will be You
It was third grade,
and I was enjoying a sleepover at my cousin’s house. I woke up not
realizing how in the next few minutes my life would be transformed
forever. My Aunt pulled me into another room with my younger sister
right beside me. I remember the look on her face to this very day as
she stated: “Your dad got into a very serious car accident so you
will be staying here for a while”. I did not know how to reply.
What does serious mean? Is daddy okay? The next few weeks, well
years, were not easy. While my dad was in the hospital, my sister and
I went from house to house. It was the heart of the school year and
my dad was a single dad. We traveled to the hospital, but he hardly
recognized us because of all the drugs he was on. His survival was a
miracle. My dad was born with a rare condition which made his spine
shorter than 99% of people’s and if his spine had been the length
of a normal person, he would have been paralyzed. Not only this, but
my dad’s face was stuck in the mud after the accident while he was
unconscious. If it had only been a few more minutes without the
officer, he would have died. The officer who saved his life was
awarded a life-saving medal at the state level. This topic hits close
to home, and I have personally felt the ramifications of car
accidents in my family. However, what I wish to promote awareness
about was almost a fatal mistake for my father, not wearing a
seatbelt.
More
than half of juveniles and adults up to age 44 who died in motor
vehicle accidents in 2015 were not wearing a seatbelt. In addition to
this, teens, as both passengers and drivers, have the lowest rate of
seat belt usage. The first step in reducing these statistics is to
give adequate drivers ed. In my drivers ed class, we
covered the laws of the road. While it is a law to wear your
seatbelt, the implications of dangerous activities such as not
wearing a seatbelt, texting while driving, or having distractions in
the car need to be explored in much greater depth. As important as it
is to learn how to read road signs, it is equally important to learn
that when you drive a car, you have the potential to kill yourself or
even those around you. The most important step in reducing the number
of youth casualties when it comes to driving is to educate, educate,
educate! As James Dean once said, “Take it easy driving- the life
you save may be mine”. It is in the hands of drivers today to
reshape the standard of drivers ed and bring awareness to the
grievous consequences driving can have.
