Our Safety is Important!

Crystal Castaneda

Our Safety is Important!

Driver education reduces the amount of death as a result of driving because without it no one would truly learn about all of our laws. And if even one person doesn’t follow the rules many can die. If it were up to us I’m many unspoken rules would later turn into not learned rules. There has to be a set amount of time and rules for everyone to learn before they are allowed to drive on their own because operating a car that is ten times more than we do is really dangerous. We might actually need to make driver’s ed more difficult to pass. And an important step we can take is to make sure the final driving test has a high passing standard everywhere. You shouldn’t be able to travel 30 minutes away just to take an easier driver’s test.

I do have a friend who used to drive like a maniac. And that is a nice description. He was unafraid and cocky, that is, until one day he got into a horrible wreck. He was A MILE away from home, by himself in his car, and after taking a quick turn he saw someone coming toward him head on. In order to avoid a head-on crash he quickly swerved, however because this was a dirt road with many potholes it caused him to flip his car. He spent that night in the hospital somehow coming out unscratched even though his car was totaled. If he had had someone in the passenger seat they would have died on impact, the side of his car completely caved in.

He somehow showed up to school the next morning, picking me and my younger brother up in a different vehicle. When he told me I felt awful, just thinking about how close he was to dying. And then I thought, “What if I had been in the passenger seat?”. That is where I was sitting at the time. And I couldn’t help but imagine, us flipping, me dying, and the amount of guilt he would feel knowing that he was the one driving. It’s been about a year since then, I didn’t ride to school with him anymore, and I drive myself now. He isn’t as dangerous when he drives his new car. Hopefully learning a lesson from his past experience.

Some of the things that I currently do to make sure that I am a safe driver are; not moving until everyone in the car is buckled, handing my phone over to the person in the passenger seat, and driving the speed limit no matter who is behind me. After I started driving on my own I realized just how many people get frustrated because you are going ‘to slow’ when in reality you’re moving at the legal speed limit. Always make sure to check your mirrors before you leave, you need them to see anything behind you! And no matter how much people are pressuring you to go faster, don’t do it! Your safety is more important than not making people mad! That is my most important rule!