One Instance

One Instance

It is seventh grade and I am riding my bike home from my best friends house. I ride in the street and my phone is in my basket right in front of me. I hear my phone buzz and even though I will be home in the next minute I feel the urge to check it. I look down and read the text I got, spam. BAM. The next thing I know, I have just hit a parked car on the side of the street.

Ever since then I refuse to use my phone in the car because while it was only a minor incident, it showed me how distracting a cell phone can be. My friends and my parents, though, haven’t gone through this and don’t sometimes don’t understand the severity of reckless driving. Sometimes my friends will speed, not use their turn signal, or disobey traffic laws. My parents will sometimes speed and not use their turn signal as well.

According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, it was found in a study that “teen crashes and fatality rates are highest at the ages of 16-18,” but “teens taking driver education are less likely to be involved in crashes or to receive a traffic violation during their first two years of driving”. This shows how important it is to take driver’s education. By taking the class, teens can reduce their likelihood of being a part of those crash and fatality statistics. Driver’s education not only teaches new driver’s the rules of the road but also the responsibility of having a license.

Some steps I, and other teens, can take to be a better and safer driver would be to limit my distractions, for example, eat before I go to work, not while I am on the way. I could also not have my radio up as high so I can hear and be aware of my surroundings. Some steps I can take to help others become safer on the road is not to ignore it when my friends are reckless drivers and to encourage younger peers to take driver’s education seriously. Furthermore, drivers can put their cell phone on silent so as not to be tempted, don’t go over the speed limit, especially during bad weather, and parents/adult figures should set good examples for children.

It only takes one instance of reckless driving to understand how important it is to be a responsible driver. For me, it was one embarrassing day of seventh grade, for others it may be the worst day of their life.