In the drivers seat

In the driver’s seat

It was around 1:30am on August 20th, 2003, when my mom got that knock on the front door that everyone is scared to get. Little did I know that the knocking on the door will change my whole life and I was only 6 months old. That knock was from the local police department in small town Aberdeen in South Dakota. They were there to inform my mom of four, that my father had crashed his pickup and died. He was coming home late from the bar and he was already very intoxicated and on top of that he was drinking while driving. From that one mistake my mom was a single mom with a 6-month-old and 3 teenagers.

Around 30 people in a day in the United states die in drunk driving crashes. That is 10,000 lives per year according to the United States Department Transportation. There are some steps that we need to take as a country to help that number go down. First I think that more people should take drivers ed. Then I think people should be more public with their stories so the younger generation can understand how dangerous driving can be and within a split of a second your whole life can change.

I personally think with my experience with my dad, driver’s education is really something to make a priority and it has shown me that responsible driving is so important because just one mistake with driving can take people’s lives away and change others around them. My whole life has changed ever since my dad has made that mistake. More people need to understand when you step into that car you are not only putting your life at risk, you are also putting everyone else at risk. That’s why you need to think twice or more before you make an irresponsible decision when it comes to driving. It has been almost 18 years since my dad died and to this day I urge people to please think before they drink and drive. After my dad passed away my mom had to change her way of life. She had to get three jobs just to support us. Then during the day my older sisters watched me instead of going to school because my mom could not pay for daycare. Once my sisters graduated my mom and I moved into a one-bedroom apartment. At this point I am in 2nd grade. As you can read my life completely changed after my dad passed. Now I am almost 18 and I live with my mom in Spearfish, South Dakota.