Irresponsible Driving Hits Close to Home

Jaliya Peavy

1407 Torrey Pines Ct. Mebane NC, 27302

336 524-7802

Howard University

Imagine you are riding your bike on the street unaware that you are about to get hit by a reckless drunk driver- your life has been changed forever. You are now paralized from the waist down due to someone else’s negligence. Now Imagine you are on the highway driving, you check your phone for one quick second and in that second you rear-end another car. That quick glance at your phone has now put you in danger and others around you in danger. Glancing at that phone for a second does not seem like a big deal, but in actuality that could be a matter between life or death, injuries that could affect you for life or no injury. Reckless driving is a huge issue that results in more car accidents and more importantly injuries and death then people think. According to NHTSA, reckless driving killed more than 2,841 lives in 2018 alone. Among those people killed there were 1,730 drivers, 605 passengers, 400 pedestrians, and 77 bicyclists. These statistics are alarming and show how serious of an issue driving under the influence or distracted is.

When first reading the prompt for this scholarship, I did not know what to write about. I sat pondering on how distracted driving has impacted my life and did not even realize I had a product of distracted driving in my family. My uncle, Floyd, was a “normal” and active kid, my grandma described him as full of life. All that was snatched away when one day he was out riding a skateboard and a drunk driver on his phone hit him. As a result, my uncle has had to have multiple brain surgeries over his forty years of life and suffer from random seizures. In addition, my uncle has a brain similar to a ten-year-old. Although it has put him in a position where he will never be able to live on his own or without a caretaker, it makes you appreciative and value life so much more. Seeing the impact it has had on my dad, my grandma, and most importantly my uncle makes me more conscious of the decisions I make behind the wheel. I would never want to put someone in the position where they have to bury their friend, mother, father, sister, or brother due to my reckless actions when driving.

Being in a generation where phones are such a distraction, that is my number one distraction in the car. My mom installed a magnetic mount on the vent of my car so that I won’t be tempted to look down. I also always have my car on an automatic do not disturb when I am driving. Additionally, I have a Bluetooth connection to my car so that I am able to change the music without having to take my eyes off the road. My mom has instilled in me the importance of safe driving and the impact that unsafe driving can have on not only me but other families. Seeing that impact that making a bad decision behind the wheel has had first hand has definitely influenced me more than I have imagined. My uncle will never be able to have a normal life due to the decisions of others and I would not want to burden another person with that reality. It’s extremely important that together we eliminate all possible distractions. Little things, like turning your ringer off or putting your phone on do not disturb can save a life without even realizing it. ALong with this my mom tells me of I am ever to drink use resources like uber and lyft to prevent driving under the influence.