And I Say “Drive Safely, I Love You”

And I Say “Drive Safely, I Love You”

Nancy Brown

DmvEdu Driving and Traffic School Scholarship

I have believed in the importance of safe driving since I was eleven years old. Before October 2014, the topic never seemed relevant to me. From fifth through ninth grade, I attended an exclusive school designed to help talented skiers and snowboarders achieve their dreams of becoming olympians. During this time, I was commuting one hour each way to school and practice; that’s a lot of time to spend in the car. Things were not so well in my parents marriage, and this pushed my father to drink. My dad would drink and drive with me in the car nearly every day. On top of that, he would speed and drive recklessly. This didn’t phase me because he never got caught; until he did. On one fall afternoon in early October, my dad stopped at the liquor store for a beer and gave me a soda as per our usual routine. As we were driving home, my dad made the mistake of passing an unmarked police car, going 73 miles per hour in a 55 zone. As soon as we crossed the county lines into the sheriff’s jurisdiction, we got pulled over. My dad quickly handed me his beer and told me to hide it. I accidentally spilled it, and the car smelled like alcohol. My dad ended up getting arrested, and the cop screamed in my face until I cried. It was a very traumatizing experience that I did go to therapy to recover from. After the incident, I did research and quickly learned I was lucky to be alive. Drinking and driving almost never ends well, and I am lucky to only have mental wounds from the incident. Since that day, I have vowed to never drink and drive, and avoid driving recklessly. I am 17 years old now, and I have had my license for a little over a year. My friends would describe me as a cautious driver, and I have never been pulled over (knock on wood). I encourage my friends to drive safely, and I believe improving driver education is a good way to spread awareness to a larger audience.

Data from 2005 to 2012 indicates a downward trend in U.S. Highway accidents, and improvements to drivers education is likely to blame. The evidence suggests drivers education is effective in preventing car accidents and promoting safe driving. The truth of the matter is driving is so dangerous because we have so little control. We have control over our vehicle, and there is a mutual agreement between you and everyone else on the road not to play bumper cars. Other than that, everything is up to chance. You can’t control how another driver will drive, and this can leave you in dangerous situations without you even noticing. The best solution for this problem is to make sure our drivers are educated on laws and how to operate a vehicle safely BEFORE they actually get behind the wheel. Most people start driving in highschool, which means we must educate the youth on the dangers of driving. If we preach the same message to an audience that has already been driving for years, the outcome will not be as effective. Improving drivers education courses will do nothing but continue the downward trend in U.S Highway accidents.

I have found the most effective way to encourage my friends to drive safely is to tell them I love them. Every time I know my friends are in a car, I tell them some variation of “drive safely, I love you”. I hope that my words remind them to make smart decisions while they’re on the road. It is also comforting to know that if something does happen, I remembered to tell them I love them. I strongly believe that a little bit of love can go a long way, so I encourage you to tell your loved ones that you love them. You never know, it could save their life.