Safe Driving Saves Lives

If only I stopped her.

If only I told her that she shouldn’t be driving.

That I’d take her home.

If only I pulled her into the house.

Even though she refused.

If only I didn’t throw that stupid party.

If only I hadn’t made her upset.

Then she wouldn’t have left.

She wouldn’t have clumsily gotten into her car.

She wouldn’t have turned on the engine.

She wouldn’t have left my driveway.

She wouldn’t have left this world.

If only I stopped her.

She would have been alive.

But no.

I didn’t do a thing.

Instead, I just watched her leave.

I let her die.

She’ll never hear me say that I love her again. I’ll never hear her get to say it back.

If only I stopped her. I would have had my best friend back.

************************************

If only I stopped myself.

If only I stayed at the house.

If only I didn’t get into my car.

I knew driving was a bad idea but I didn’t care.

I just wanted to leave.

If only I didn’t let my anger cloud my judgment.

If I didn’t let the alcohol take over.

If only I didn’t have 7 drinks. Or was it 8? Maybe 9. 10?

If only the last words that I said to my best friend was I love you instead of I hate you

I wouldn’t be in a hospital bed.

With pain piercing through every part of my body.

With my heartbeat slowing down.

With my eyes drooping closed.

Feeling sleepy.

If only I…

If only I…

If only I-

BEEEEP

The scenario above could easily become the reality for someone. Driver education is important in reducing the number of deaths because it could have the power to save lives.

To figure out the solution to the number of deaths related to driving, we need to find the problem. For starters, despite knowing the consequences of distracted driving, people simply don’t listen.

“Don’t drink and drive”

“Don’t text and drive”

It’s easy to ignore the constant reminders. They’re repeated so many times that they start to lose their meanings. People aren’t fully aware of how being distracted impacts their driving. That one minute that you choose to look at your phone is one minute you are spending not looking at the road. People need to understand that when they say to themselves, “I’ll just send this one text” – it could potentially be their last text. People think that if they have complete control of their vehicle, then they’ll be fine. That’s why it’s easy to ignore the constant reminders. But no one can fully account for all the dangers that happen on the road. You can’t control the vehicle coming at you. But it takes an alert driver to at least have the chance.

My mom and sisters could have lost their lives. It was a typical day as usual and my mom was driving my sisters to school. I wasn’t in the car because I took the bus. As my mom was driving she heard a weird noise coming from the car. A few minutes later one of the wheels went off and rolled across the street. Luckily the street was empty and no cars were hit. And thankfully my mom was able to stop at a curb. If my mom didn’t notice the wheel, she and my sisters wouldn’t have been okay. And if that wheel that rolled onto the street hit an oncoming car, it could have caused some real problems. It just goes to show how important it is to limit distractions when driving. Imagine if you were a distracted driver in my mom’s shoes. You wouldn’t have noticed the wheel rolling off because you were too busy looking down at your phone.

Three steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. The first is to spread information through the use of social media. Tips for driving safely need to be shared with current drivers. More news and reports also need to be shared of people who’ve lost their lives due to driving unsafely. It might be a little dramatic but it scares people into being more careful when driving. A boy in my school lost his life in a car accident. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and flew out the window. Every time that I notice that I’m not wearing my seatbelt I think of that boy from my school. It’s scary but effective. The other step is to make more policies and laws against distracted driving. No one wants to pay a ticket or get stopped by the police. It might not eliminate unsafe driving, but it will make people more willing to drive safely. Last but not least, be the change that you want to see. You’re less likely to drive safely if you see your friends or parents aren’t, but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. So take the initiative to drive safely and call out friends and family when they aren’t.

To be completely honest, sometimes my parents drive unsafely all the time. Many parents do. I don’t say anything to mine because I trust and feel safe around them. But they are human just like everyone else. They can just as easily lose control of the car because they are looking down at their phones. Next time I’m in the car with my mom and she asks for her phone I need to insist that I dial the number or that I send that text for her. What I can do to become a safe driver is to limit distractions while I’m in the car. If turning off my phone is necessary, it should be done. I also need to always wear my seatbelt.

We make driving safely seem harder than it is. It isn’t. Put your seatbelt on, put your phone away, and don’t get in the car if you’ve been taking drugs. Don’t put yourself and others at risk for something that could have easily been avoided.