Joyride After Joyride

The most important thing regarding driver’s education is not only its content, but the access to it as well. New drivers from different incomes, backgrounds, and more all have different introductions to driving. For example, through my mom’s insurance and connection to AAA, I was able to get lessons. However, for some of those in my friend circle, the money for professional driving lessons is a low priority. These socioeconomic differences have a domino effect, leading to the amount of times the driving test has to be taken, lack of information about the DMV, and more. Essentially, these differences could help be reduced with universally free driver’s training. Accessibility is a crucial first step when learning how to be safe behind the wheel, and I am forever grateful that as I paid for my own groceries, car insurance, and school-related fees in the background, my driver’s training was financially covered. In addition, it is important to include the lesser commonly known elements that impair a driver, such as the signs of a stroke, seizure, and the meaning of the different colors of smoke coming from underneath the hood.

Speaking of impaired driving, texting and alcohol are the “Big Two” that are shown all the time in the media as the main culprits of driving-related deaths. However, the factors of suicide and non-alcohol drug use should be known as hidden causes as well.

Purposely getting in a car accident is usually not a common way to end one’s life – most of the time the soul is lost to a bottle of pills, a noose, or even a gunshot. Without discrediting these unfortunately common ways of killing oneself, it is important to acknowledge the fact that suicide by an intentional car accident does happen. The stigma attached to mental health, inaccessibility to mental health resources and faults in the mental healthcare system itself can all lead to the mindset of “If I can’t be happy, no one else can. ” – and perhaps, both the driver and surrounding drivers losing their life. Flaws in this said system range from an abusive environment in psych wards to high school counselors ignoring a student’s plea for help (and rather, focusing on their GPA instead). The change begins with destigmatizing mental health as “taboo” in all aspects of life, contacting those who have authoritative power within the mental healthcare system to discuss and apply improvements that can be made, and even something as small as regularly checking in on your friends and knowing the signs of when being behind the wheel is not the best course of action.

Alcohol is infamous for driving deaths and the damage caused by DUIs, but its closely related family of drugs are next in line. Too often, self-proclaimed “stoners” take to the road while high and rely on their expertise to get them on the road safely, claiming time after time that “they’ve done it before”. No matter how many times they get to their destination safely, the risk is always present of thinking that a right turn is actually left, and vice-versa – this does not always guarantee a safe arrival home. Many teenagers engage in cannabis use on a regular basis, just like driving. It is important to emphasize during driver’s training that driving under the influence does not always mean having a blood alcohol content above the legal limit. It includes having the edible in your system taken a couple hours ago, whatever substance was snorted that is now floating around in your bloodstream, and the acid tablet melting on your tongue while at the last stoplight before you get home. This is the brutal reality of drug use and driving. Making sure that your own bodily system is clear of substances while driving and holding your friends accountable for their actions can save both your life and theirs.

One evening in my junior year of high school, my dad picked me up from cross country practice. We began to argue about something and I questioned sitting in the back seat instead of the front due to my frustration. However, I sat in the front and simply went on my phone and texted instead – this intuition could have possibly saved my life. All of a sudden, at a busy intersection, my dad’s car was severely T-boned and was sent into a 270 degree spiral. My head was slammed against the window during the entire ordeal, and despite my dad’s airbag deploying, mine did not. We were lucky to leave with only soreness, light whiplash, and trauma; but what was the cause of the crash? Not a drunk driver, but a drowsy driver. The only sounds I heard were my own sobbing, the culprit apologizing profusely, and the sirens of an expensive ambulance that would return to the hospital without me or my father inside. As I was shaking and trying to calm my heartbeat, I looked at the rear door that had bent into the back seat of the car; the same seat I had almost sat in just 10 minutes before that would have led to the brutal end of my cross country season. As stated before, alcohol is not always the culprit – it can be your own tiredness behind the wheel that could lead to someone’s permanent sleep.

Fast forward four or so years, I am now a Doordash delivery driver. Delivering food safely is essential to my job, however, what is more important is my own safety on the road. Using voice control to decline orders so that I am able to keep my eyes on the road while driving is a tactic I use to maintain safety, as well as pulling over in a nearby parking lot to manage orders as well. As I and many other Doordashers have recognized as a hazard, the feature of having to state why we are declining an order while pressing four different screen selections not only wastes our time, but puts us at-risk if we are on the road as well. I have been proactive in bringing this to the attention of Doordash, along with millions of other drivers around the world. These extra steps benefit no one, and we have brought up the suggestion of having a “swiping” feature to quickly decline or accept orders, similar to Tinder’s format.

When I am not on the job, informing others in my friend and family circle of any reliable tips I find about driving safely indirectly creates safer drivers on the road as well. I always remind them that when driving late at night or even in the incredibly early hours of the morning, try to stay out of the fastest and slowest lanes. This is because if a wrong-way driver enters the street or freeway, they may drive very fast in what they perceive as the “fast” lane, when in reality it is the slow lane. The other option is that the said backwards driver may drive slow in the alleged “slow lane” in a pathetic attempt to be careful – this is actually the fast lane, and a fast-driving sober driver may not be able to get out of the way in time. Either way, thinking outside of the box to maintain safety and considering all possible scenarios while driving is crucial.

Lastly, as much as I love taking my friends on joyrides and having therapy sessions in my car, I always let them know to call me for a ride if they need a ride home, regardless if they are intoxicated, tired, or otherwise under an influence. I want the days of road trips, fast food runs, and joyrides to keep going – but above all, safety comes first. Many of my friends do not have the privilege of owning a car or knowing how to drive yet, however I am more than proud of them for already having instilled in them the importance of driving responsibly. Leaving my phone on at night is a must for me in case someone needs a ride, which has happened a couple of times – I would rather have someone getting home late but safely in my car, than in danger on the side of the road; this is one of the ways I show my love and care for both others and myself.