One Moment

One Moment

Every young person coming into adulthood dreams about freedom and being able to express themselves. Most oftenly this starts with driving. They become fascinated with the idea of taking on the road and driving wherever their mind wanders. Driving, as much as it can be fun and freeing, is also one of the most deadly activities people do everyday.

Recently I have started driving and learning how to with the help of my parents and an instructor. Just this last month I actually passed my driving test and received my license. Nothing is more freeing than having the physical card in your hands, nothing is more dangerous for a teen driver as well. Learning how to drive took a long time for me, but I am glad it did. I learned that not everyone who has a license should be. I am sure everyone who drives has heard of the people who drive so fast they cruise up along your bumper, or drive so slow it’s an embarrassment to the elderly. Both are hazardous and surprisingly, even though we are taught and see others driving correctly we still see these people everyday on our commute to work, on our way back, or even if we’re just going grocery shopping. We need to take more steps to ensure people know ho9w to drive. Just recently I found out driving tests are not mandatory throughout life. Older people don’t know the newer rules and often forget the ones they had learned. That is why I say that there should be tests for adults who already have their license in order to keep them. For example when I was practicing for my driving test I went with my grandma and I took a right turn into a suicide lane and stopped to eait for a time to merge. My grandma, horrified, was screaming to start going. Knowing that I was safe in the suicide lane I waited and then merged and explained to her that it was a safe manuver.

A couple years ago my sister, dad, and a friend were in the car just nearby our house going to drop off our friend and they were stopped at a red light. This street had a speed limit of 40 and was a well driven street by both of my parents. At the red light they were chatting and all of a sudden an suv going about 45 rear ended them while looking at their phone. The crash destroyed the back end of the ford they had been in and gave my dad and sister a concussion and our friend an injured knee. The hazards of texting and driving are horrible and with this new age of technology among us where even our cars have screens in them now is scary. I believe that we should restrict the access to these devices while we are driving. Many people may argue that these devices help with directions or that it helps select music, but 2 decades ago everyone was fine without them.

So many people die on the road everyday to distractions and misinformation that we feed ourselves or others have taught us. We need to do something to help save people’s lives, or we could all lose it in one moment.