Drunk Driving: Eyes on the Road

My memory is a bit hazy, but when I was about 12 years old I witnessed my first death. I know you’d think for my first death I’d remember exactly what happened, but I don’t. Doesn’t that make you think how easily people can move on? And I don’t mean to offend anybody by saying it happens easily because I know those who mourn for the person they lost can never forget, but they will eventually move on and thats the harsh truth. The victim’s name was Mrs. Alicia, I didn’t really know her, but my mom did. She was my mom’s first English teacher when we moved to the US. She was also one of the first people to make my mom feel welcome and for that, I was grateful to her. Although at the time I didn’t fully process what happened, it didn’t feel real, but it was. It was real to her family, friends, and to my mom. She died on impact, she did nothing wrong, but the other driver did, they were drunk. Having been able to see what death does to those who are left behind makes me want to protect those who are close to me. Learning how dangerous drinking and driving is, is crucial to safe driving.

Whenever I took the driver’s ed course I was left even more frightened, with all those videos with the dead bodies, but hey, it worked. I’m super cautious now and don’t let myself get distracted in any way. I was able to walk away with a few newfound fears, but with those new fears, I was also given ways to prevent them. For example, always keeping your eyes on the road, all it takes is a blink of an eye, and for your world to be flipped upside down, in this case, it might be your car, so literally. Let me ask you this, what’s more important? That text from your friend asking where you are? Or your life? Yeah, I thought so too, but let’s say hypothetically you chose the text, what if there was a drunk driver near and you weren’t aware of that? You see there’s a green light, and there are no other cars, so you assume your safe and reach for your phone. And in reaching for your phone the drunk driver appears and at the exact same moment that you’re crossing your green light they cross their red light. See where I’m going with this? So, keep your eyes on the road you need to be able to practice defensive driving. Don’t confide in other drivers, be cautious, and know how to keep yourself safe from those who are distracted or even intoxicated.

Never forget, driving is a privilege, not a right, it can easily be taken away from you, so be aware of your surroundings and don’t drive mindlessly. Not everybody might have this mindset of yours of driving safe, but in situations, like these, it’s up to you to do your best and keep yourself away from harm. Which leads me to this, don’t become another number, drive defensively and stay safe.