Culture of Accountability

Nearly 153,000 people have died this year in the USA from Covid-19. These numbers are terrifying and shocking, and, for most of us, seem like an astonishing amount of death. We, as a country and world, deemed this pandemic so deadly and dangerous that we have shut down our economies, closed our schools, and hid inside of our homes for the past 6 months. 153,000 is a surprisingly high number, but what is even more surprising is that another, slightly lower level, pandemic exists, and its called distracted driving. Distracted driving kills more than 38,000 people per year. That number is only about 1/5 the amount of covid-19 deaths but is more than the total number of US soldiers who died in the Korean War. Cars can act as mere transportation devices, or weapons of mass destruction. Many people, especially those in the USA, view driving as a right instead of a privilege, and it is far too often taken for granted and advantage of. Driving is more than simply turning the key in the ignition and pressing “go” or “stop” pedals; there are rules of the road for a reason and anyone who has had personal involvement in a driving accident can attest to that, myself included. Several of my friends and family have been in terrible car crashes, but there’s one particular crash that stuck with me. My best friend Tristan, who was going to school in northern Maine at the time, while driving back to school at night from his house, a pickup truck going the opposite direction on the highway swerved into his lane at full speed. Tristan wasn’t able to react in time to move out of the way and had a head-on collision with the truck. His sedan car had been crunched to the size of a Fiat, his teeth and jaw completely shattered along with most of his ribs, legs, and pelvis. The driver of the truck died on impact. It took a while before the firemen got there to tear off the door to get to him and bring him to the nearest hospital where he was resuscitated back to life.

Accountability is so important when it comes to driving, and it starts with a changed mind set. When you sit down in the driver’s seat you are taking responsibility for the lives of everyone in your vehicle as well as other cars. Many people don’t grasp the weight of responsibility that comes with driving, and this is something that needs to be changed within our society’s culture. If people spoke and taught about driving with the same severity they did alcohol and drugs, we could change the way new generation’s of drivers see driving. If we make it more common and socially acceptable to call others out on their dangerous or irresponsible behavior, we can create a culture of accountability. Don’t be afraid to speak up to your friends or even your parents, everyone should be held accountable for their actions.