Driving Lessons

Driving Lessons

Mason Lefever

You’ve found the place that holds your socks, now go to the couch and wait for a box! After a scavenger hunt that sent me running through the house, I ended up on the couch. The couch started ringing and there it was, at the age of 12, my first phone!

There’s no denying that for my generation, getting a phone is a rite of passage but luckily (or unluckily if you ask my sister), my parents have no problem adding time limits to our phones and while it’s annoying at times, it’s helped me understand how easy it is for that device to take over! As far as how my phone has impacted me while I’m driving, well, I would say my friend’s use of his phone taught me the greatest lesson of all.

I got the call shortly after 11 PM that my friend, Quinn, had been in an accident. How was that possible? He had just left my house. My family and I piled into the car and took off. It wasn’t hard to tell when we were close, traffic was backed up, there were flashing lights and I saw an ambulance pulling in.

I jumped out of the car and ran. My mom was driving so my Dad ran after me. As we got closer, I saw a broken headlight on the ground and there was glass everywhere. I paused when I saw the accident, two cars, one with the airbag blown, the other with the door hanging awkwardly. Of course, I have seen pictures of accidents before but when it’s real and you know your friend was part of it, it strikes you in a completely different way.

Where was Quinn? I looked around and saw a man speaking with a police officer, there were others who started picking up pieces of both cars and sweeping up glass from the street. Further down was an ambulance. I was almost afraid to go to it but I knew I had to. He was my friend and Quinn’s family had not yet arrived. My Dad and I started walking. When I got closer, I saw him sitting on the ground being treated by paramedics. He was banged up but fine. Whew!

Turns out, that after Quinn left my house, his phone started blowing up. First, he ignored it. He lives a mile away so he figured he’d look to see what all the texts were about when he got home. But, one too many notifications and it got the best of him. Quinn couldn’t handle not knowing what was going on and picked up the phone.

That’s all it took. That one moment of distracted driving ended up totaling not only Quinn’s car but the car of the man he hit. Luckily, neither was seriously injured. Lessons were learned that night from Quinn’s accident and not just for Quinn but for me too.

Distracted driving is serious, it’s real, it doesn’t only “happen to someone else”. Luckily for all of us, ours is a happy ending. This is where Driver’s Education comes in. We need to learn and understand that what we are operating is a dangerous piece of equipment and we need to respect the damage that can be done. Driver’s Education gives us the best opportunity to learn the rules of the road, to understand how to deal with a variety of situations.

Quinn’s accident was a reminder to follow the rules. It doesn’t matter if I like them or not. They really are there for a reason. We have to learn something, we need a take away or Quinn’s accident and all the others that happen on a daily bases happen for nothing.

For me, it was a jolt of reality of how quickly everything can be taken away. There are many forms of distracted driving but right now the one that affects me and my friends the most is our phones. It is so easy to take a quick look and not realize that our eyes and attention are off the road for way longer than we think.

So what can we do? First, and foremost, is to believe that this can be a serious issue. Sure, when something happens like what happened to Quinn, it’s easy for him and those of us around him to believe it and then to take action to prevent it. But In order for others to believe it, we have to keep spreading real life stories, keeping it front of mind and letting people know it can happen and does happen.

So, hey, don’t tempt fate. Put your phone away and get on your way. Your phone and all of its messages will be there for you when you arrive. And that’s the important part, arriving.