Be Alert, Stay Alive

Be Alert, Stay Alive

By: Abbie Nelson

You are a seventeen-year-old senior in high school coming home from your first varsity basketball game. Not only did your team win, but you played the best that you had ever played in your life; you led your team to victory by making several lay-ups and even by making a half-court shot! It was around 7 at night; having both of your parents working until 7, you can’t wait to get home and tell them about your awesome game! You get into your car and begin to drive back home from school. As you are driving, you hear the faint noise of cars repeatedly honking behind you as the rain starts to slowly fall onto your windshield. While looking at your rearview mirror, you notice several cars moving to the shoulder of the road, with the exception of one large truck speeding towards you. Before you are able to pull over, the truck collides with yours. Just like that, your life is gone because of an intoxicated driver, never getting to see your family again, never getting to graduate or go to college, and missing out on an abundant amount of opportunities. Sadly, this story is a reality today. In 2017 alone, nine percent of the reported car crashes were due to distractions, according to iii.org. This is a recurring issue that should matter to everyone because lives are at risk; these are mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, etc. that are lost due to the selfishness of distracted drivers. Due to this, driver education should be taken seriously and considered a vital necessity.

To begin, driver education should be valued and taken seriously among all teenagers and adults. In fact, it is our education that could potentially save the lives of others. According to asirt.org, 1.35 million people die in car crashes and 20-50 million people suffer injuries from car crashes every single year. Car crashes can occur for numerous reasons: tailgating, texting while driving, drowsiness, drug use, alcohol use, and many more. Our lives are too short and too precious to put ourselves, and others at the risk of death. Driver education is something that needs to be valued. There are many teenagers, and even adults, that are irresponsible drivers; what these drivers must realize is that by taking their eyes off the road or being intoxicated, they are being selfish in which they are risking the lives of others and themselves.
Despite never having been in a car accident, I do understand how important this issue is. Although it is illegal to do many things while driving, such as being under the influence or using your cell phone, it is inevitable that there will always be some people who decide to break the law anyways. What can be done? There are already police officers that can pull you over if they have suspicion, but is that really enough? What can you personally do to prevent car accidents and the death of yourself and others? First of all, the use of alcohol and drugs is illegal while driving; therefore, do not drive under any influence. Call a friend or a family member if you are not able to drive. The impact of technology in our lives today is incredible. Many people, especially teenagers, are addicted to their cell phones. What you may think is “no big deal” by choosing to look down and answer that text message or check that social media notification, could lead to a numerous amount of dangerous possibilities. If it is truly urgent for one to check their cell phone, do so by pulling into a gas station; stop driving. It is putting too many lives at risk, including your own. Do your part by reporting suspicious drivers and being a responsible, safe driver. In general, the driver education system should also be improved. The upcoming teens who are learning to drive need to believe and understand that distracted driving is unsafe, selfish driving. It can be improved by increasingly spreading awareness of the statistics of deaths among those who are in car accidents.

To conclude, driver education should be taken seriously and considered a vital necessity. Our lives are too short and too precious to risk losing due to distractions while on the road. This problem cannot be fixed by only one person. The only solution to this issue is for everyone to be responsible. Although it can never be completely stopped, it can be drastically improved by spreading awareness about the number of deaths when it comes to distracted driving and car crashes. In the end, it is not the question of “how can the world reduce the number of deaths?”, but rather “how can you reduce the number of deaths?” It all begins with you and your plans to take action.