Who’s Driving?

There are thousands of deaths each year that are caused by driving. When you are behind the wheel you have to take make sure you are ready at all times while also watching what is ahead of you. It can be easy to become distracted, but taking your eyes off the road for one second can cause harm. As a driver, you are responsible for yourself, the people in your car, what is on the road, and other drivers. There are many reasons car accidents occur, the use of cellphone, distraction, or under the influence. Driving is a privilege that cannot be taken for granted, one moment you can be here and the next moment you can be gone. The soaring numbers of accidents each year is scary that’s why I believe educating drivers can help them become knowledgeable and skilled for vehicle safety.

When you are not the driver it makes it a little harder to trust another person’s driving because you do not know how they drive. When I get into the car with my aunt I always feel uncomfortable in the car because she is always on her phone whether it is texting, calling, or scrolling through social media. I have witnessed this many times and each time I tell her to put her phone down. Although she listens when I am in the car, I know she still does it and it worries me. It is not only dangerous but it can cause you to swerve, hit a car, or miss an exit. I always ask myself why do people feel the need to use their cellphone at a time where they should be paying close attention to the road. I mean it is their life and many others on the line.

The growing number of distracted drivers is becoming more dangerous to themselves and society. But it seems that young adults are more susceptible to cause accidents due to more use of cellphone and distracted driving. Implementing driver’s education in high school is a start because it can literally save lives. Drivers education shouldn’t just start once you start driving, we need to prepare teenagers now so they are more knowledgeable when the time is right for them.

There have been plenty of laws that have been placed in order to reduce the number of deaths and injuries. Different states have different laws and some are more extreme than others. Yet even though laws are placed, many people break it. There is so much information that can be found on driving safely, but it doesn’t prepare you for when you are on the road. You could be driving safely and one moment can change your life. I have been in a few car accidents in my life and all the times I have been in one I was not the driver. When remembering a recent accident, I shudder thinking about it because it could have gone way worse. I was in a car with four other people and it was late at night, we were all going home after a concert. We were all trying to sober up, but my friend said she was fine to drive. So, we all listened and agreed she could drive, as we get on the freeway she was not okay and gets into an argument with her boyfriend. We are turning fast down a ramp and it’s a long curvy one, she ends up swerving against it until we hit the bottom of the ramp. It was late at night so there were no cars and I thank God there were not any because we could have been hit. We all seem surprisingly okay, just very shocked but the next day it all hit us. I had back pains, one side of my body was bruised, and had a huge headache because I ended up hitting the top of the car during the crash.

I will never forget that day, because I swore to never get into the car with anyone under the influence again. I never told this story to anyone, because when I think about I realized how dumb it was of me to get into the car knowing we were not okay to drive. It is never okay to drive under the influence your life and the lives of others are important. There are simple ways to reduce your risks such as obeying the traffic laws, avoid distractions, be sober, and be aware of your surroundings.