One Moment

It only takes one moment for you to lose control, one moment for your life to end as though it had never occurred, one moment for you to lose what you held to be true. Getting your driver’s license is a great reward and privilege and when you receive it you feel as though you are on top of the world. It’s a sign that you are entering the world in a sense you have never thought of when you were a child, you gain something great, independence. Yet, with this great feeling also comes confidence. The confidence that you can speed, drive as though you were a pro, yet all this false bravado can come crashing down in a moment. It’s because of these split-second decisions and moments that driving cautiously and safely is important because if you don’t your life can change in ways that you hadn’t thought possible mere moments ago.

On a foggy, dark afternoon, I was driving in the car with my mom and as we were driving my family and I were having fun not thinking of anything else other than the conversation we were having. As we drove we didn’t worry about anything else, certainly not the rain or the cars that surrounded us because we didn’t feel the need to. Yet, as we continued the drive my mom looked back and when she turned back around, she came to see the car in front had come to a stop. In a split second, my mom slammed on the breaks and as the car slid on the freeway attempting to come to a halt, there wasn’t a sound. That one moment that lasted a mere 5 seconds, felt like an eternity with the silence and fear that came with it. Thankfully, that day my family and I made it out and the car didn’t hit anyone or anything. Yet, what I learned that day wasn’t a mere 5 seconds, rather it taught me about the importance of driving safely and how even a mere moment can have catastrophic consequences.

Driving is a great privilege that comes with serious repercussions and it’s through safe driving that we can ensure that casualties reduce. By giving safety the importance that it deserves, we can ensure that families don’t end up losing family members in mere moments. Driving recklessly not only puts yourself at risk but also innocent individuals that are driving around you. Admittingly, it’s a simple solution that has been brought up thousands of times, yet this also makes one wonder: although being so simple, why do crashes happen every day? This is likely due to a variety of reasons, reckless driving, poor driving conditions, lack of sleep. Yet, although there are various reasons as to why car accidents still occur, the one that stands out the most is reckless driving. At the root of it all, reckless driving is a dangerous form of driving that ends in disaster in the worst cases. By ensuring that your life doesn’t go out in a moment, as though someone blew out a candle, makes sure you drive safely and remind others to do so. Life is all about moments and driving recklessly may be fun in one moment, yet fatal or serious in another

Driving safely and reducing the number of yearly deaths starts from within. I too need to work on driving safely because at the end of the day having fun is something that I live for. Driving fast is fun because it gives you an exhilarating sense of freedom, yet this freedom can only be enjoyed if you are alive. Personally, I have worked towards staying safe on the roads, albeit slowly, because I have had reminders in my life that remind me of what can happen in mere moments. One example is when I broke my arm mountain biking down all because I didn’t want to hit the breaks in order to get the most speed possible. Ultimately, this ended with me slamming into a tree that I hadn’t noticed, hadn’t been pruned from the side of the trail. Had I moderated my speed, I would have noticed that the trail hadn’t been properly maintained and I wouldn’t have had to get a surgery done. Although being very different from a car, I learned once again that day that things happen in a moment. One moment can change your life from good to bad or bad to good. Driving recklessly invites danger and harm into your life because you are going so fast that you don’t have time to react to these moments. It’s fun until it isn’t and in this case, if you are unlucky your reckless driving will result in you becoming a statistic. For the safety of everyone, drive safely.