Safe Driving

Throughout our lives we are constantly reminded to drive safe. We know not to text while driving, not to drive under the influence, don’t speed, and to wear your seatbelt. Yet once we start driving it seems these rules go out the window. We hear of the horror stories of car accidents and the consequences or making the wrong decisions. Through driver’s education courses we are taught how to avoid accidents and make the roads safer for ourselves and other drivers.

I have personally never been involved in a car accident, but in May of 2020 I lost a classmate to irresponsible driving. He had been texting while driving and when he finally looked up from his phone it was too late. He crashed head on into a semi-truck and died instantly. My classmate was a kind and smart student who made a mistake which almost all drivers do. I believe the best way to promote safe driving is sharing these tragic stories. I know many of my classmates who now won’t look at their phone while driving, even though they had before. Tragedy puts things into perspective for us and makes us realize what we are taking for granted. The text or snapchat notification can wait; a quick message is not worth someone’s life.

When I first started my driver’s education courses, my teacher brought in a public speaker to talk about his tragic accident. The speaker’s friend had made the foolish decision of driving drunk. The presenter and another friend made that same bad decision when they decided to get in the car with a driver who was under the influence. They crashed the car into a tree, causing the spokesperson to become paralyzed, and his friend who wasn’t driving, to die. The drunk driver was charged with man slaughter, forever changing his life.

This guest speaker believes his biggest regret in life was allowing his friend to drive drunk. He blamed himself for the accident although he wasn’t driving. Driving irresponsibly forever changes our lives, although it doesn’t seem like it when we are making that decision. Many students who underage drink and decide to drive do it out of fear of repercussions from their parents. The speaker’s story scared my classmates and I into realizing that it is better to confront the consequences of your parents than it is to face the aftermath of driving under the influence.

Although it may not seem like it, you make important life choices as you drive. Reckless driving puts you and everyone else on the road in danger. Vehicular accidents can have terrible consequences. The best way to avoid these accidents is to educate drivers. Drivers need to be defensive while on the road in order to keep themselves, and others safe. A small distraction can impact your life forever. We need to share these awful stories in order to learn from past mistakes and save more lives. Driving may be a convenient form of transportation, but driving recklessly will do more harm than good.