Making an Impact

DmvEdu.org

Rebekah Arwood

2020 Drivers Education Essay Contest

Making an Impact

“Yeah, it’s a serious issue, but I’m a good driver. That will never happen to me.” Thousands of teenagers and adults make this statement every day until it is to late. Whether it is due to driving while intoxicated, texting, dancing and singing with your friends, or driving to blow off steam because you just had an argument, deaths occur from being distracted at the wheel. No matter what high school you go to, there is always an assembly at least once a year related to driving safely. It may be organized by the student body government, the driver’s education instructor, a traveling spokesperson, or local police. There are always different ways that individuals try to reach out and explain the severity of safe driving. The struggle always seems to be, “how do we make it interesting enough for kids to take it seriously?” Simulation machines, crashed vehicles being brough on site, testimonials, and pictures and videos of crash scenes can all be very helpful, but it lacks relatability. I remember one of the most impactful stories from when I was a freshman in high school, that I think about to this day, twelve years later. One of our seniors took the microphone. She was incredibly liked, charismatic, funny, caring, beautiful and always had a smile on her face. However, that day she did not. She got up in front of 1500 students and told the story of how her father died because of a drunk driver. To see the pain and hurt in her eyes, to hear the agonizing truth of how a little girl lost her best friend was excruciating. This testimony could have been recorded and shown on a screen to another high school in a different town, but would those students get near as much out of it as we did? They wouldn’t have had a personal connection, and even if it did have a connection with 20% of the students, they would forget about it by the end of the week because it would just be “another story”. Having students/teachers that are within the same school, speaking about their personal losses creates an emotional connection, which would force peers to think twice about being distracted the next time they are driving. The importance of driver education boils down to less little girls and boys having to lose their mommy or daddy, so that husbands and wives get to see their spouse for dinner, so that mothers and fathers don’t have to bury their own children. While I have never been in a major accident, I have been in some very uncomfortable situations where my friends are driving way to fast or driving while intoxicated. Those moments were terrifying and made me appreciate the opportunity to be able to walk away safely, and made me realize I never wanted to put someone else in the same position I was in. Don’t be the reason that a loved individual doesn’t get to go home to their family.