You are accountable

When I was 16 years old my family and I immigrated to the United States to start a new chapter of our lives. A year after our arrival my family and I had a very traumatic experience. My youngest sister named Calla who I love so dearly had a near-death experience with a reckless driver in American Fork Utah. After getting the phone call from my Father about the news my heart dropped, questions and worries began to fill my mind, and all I could think about was, why did this happen? how did this happen? and was my sister okay. No parent, no sibling, no child, should ever have to receive this chilling phone call that their loved ones have been in a car accident, or in worse cases, hearing that they have passed away. Whatever your experiences, I wish to talk about the difference you can make, to make sure you don’t take the life of someone else’s child. Firstly, we need to have a good, thorough driver’s education, and here is how.

Driver’s education and general vehicle safety needs to be more commonly talked about rather just in a classroom setting, and when in a classroom setting, young teenagers should be held to a very high standard. This is real life, with real people, and there are no second chances on the road. Amongst the talk of high standard drivers education, there needs to be a focus on the use of phones as well as an implementation of a no phone tolerance rule for all drivers. According to the ¹National Safety Council, cellphone use leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. We could have saved millions of lives (quite literally) if we were just a little more responsible with our cellphones. With good drivers education, and an emphasis on zero phone usage this can all be possible.

Another experience that is close to my heart was a man who went to my high school named Beau. He was a wonderful guy with many talents. I never truly got to know him like a friend, but he was known in our school and loved by many. When he was 16, he was involved in a horrific car accident, and shockingly he lost his life. A man with such a bright future ahead of him had his dreams and his parent’s dreams crushed, all due to an incident driving. In memory of him, shirts were made, bracelets were woven, functions were put on, all with the theme of “Smile like Beau.” Stories like this are sad to read, and heart-wrenching for those who knew him personally to experience. The emotional weight fatalities bring last seemingly forever, myself still feeling that sadness for him and his family 6 years later.

Now one may ask, what next? We can’t possibly sit here and wait for it to get better because it will not, we all need to act. First, we need to set the example for others by not condoning the use of cell phones while we are driving and making sure our friends and family are not getting distracted either. Another way to make the roads safer is to be an awake and an attentive passenger. When we are awake, watching the road ahead, we can warn the driver of things they could miss, and save them from possible collisions. Having 2 people exercising safe driving practices is always better than one. Another way we can be better is by never speeding. Often times we run late for meetings, class, and other important events, my mother always told me, “just be 5 minutes late” I truly believe that advice from her is priceless. By following these steps, as well as many others not mentioned above, we can be better citizens of our country by driving responsibly and saving lives on the road.

We can start today, let today be the day where you make the difference to be a more committed and safe driver. Never check your phone while behind the wheel, never speed even if you are going to be late, be an awake and an attentive passenger, and many more. Life is a lot more stress-free when we make wise decisions, let us start by making these decisions on the road. Help us cultivate a society of safe responsible drivers where we can trust our children and our loved ones will be safe to drive in. You are accountable, now make today count by being a responsible driver.

Works Cited

1. NSC. “Texting and Driving Accident Statistics – Distracted Driving.” Edgarsnyder.com, NSC, 8 Aug. 2019, https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html#:~:text=General%20Cell%20Phone%20Statistics,caused%20by%20texting%20and%20driving.