The next right thing

The next right thing

When we are young, the idea of growing up can be scary or exciting. We get to do new activities on our own, learn new subjects, and meet new people. A stepping stool to adulthood is driving, well getting a learner to permit then a license. It is the first taste of independence plenty of 16, and 17 years get to experience. They get so excited that sometimes, they forget that a car is not a chance for freedom but a responsibility that proves they can handle the next step toward adulthood. Safety starts with awareness, for instance, when I was a kid we used to get an annual talk about why drunk driving and paying attention to the road is important to not only us but for the safety of the public. A man, a father spoke every year about the story of how his daughter got killed because someone was paying attention to their phone instead of the road. This may seem like a harsh topic for kids varying from 10 to 13 but it was an important warning for all of us about how everything can change in an instant. Schools should do more to educate students especially in middle school and high school about public safety and safe driving. We have a talk about suicide prevention, black history month, and probably now individual hygiene in schools across the country, why not safe driving? Teach kids to look out for each other when they get older so that someone’s daughter, son, or parent doesn’t pay the price of one person’s mistake. We need community and government resources to make people understand the importance and power a person wields while driving. Signs, pamphlets, and commercial ads are all an ongoing effort to stop preventable car accidents and deaths from happening, but this is a sickness and we are just treating the symptoms. If we aim to learn and focus on the facts to then share them with the children of today, then the adult of tomorrow can be better prepared for intervention or prevention. I had the experience of being in a drunk driving accident when I was about to go to college and it changed my life forever. My friend was driving and everything was normal until I blacked out, then I saw the pole followed by the smoke coming out of the hood. I was confused and covered in a strange liquid, but most of all I was terrified for the people only a short distance away. I will never forget that night, as it took away my innocence and shook me into the reality of my situation. Since then, I always look out for people and warn them so they don’t make the same mistake we did. Whatever it is that is distracting you or if you are intoxicated and want to badly drive home, to both I say: it can wait. Look out for others but most importantly yourself because there are no redos.