Be safe

Driving education was one of the best courses I could have ever taken. It taught me how to be a safe and responsible driver on the roads. A lot of the time people just want to go fast and have fun, but driving isn’t supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to be able to get you from point A to point B. Especially being a teen I know how easy it is to go faster than the posted speed limit. Then I have to remember what driver education taught me and how my life will be put in danger. When driving you don’t only have your life in your hands you also have everyone else on the road’s lives in your hands. After turning 16 I thought I had the world at my feet and officially was able to do whatever I wanted but at that was not the case, I would soon find out when I was rear ended not even 2 weeks after getting my drivers license that I really didn’t have the world at me feet but that I needed to make sure I pay my full attention on the road. A teenager was texting while driving on a main street when I was trying to turn not noticing I was stopped with my blinker on and not even 2 seconds later my car was totaled and from that moment on I have seen driving from a different perspective ever sense.

When I was 7 years old I remember my parents getting a phone call from the hospital. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but I got a hint when I saw my mom start crying and started packing us up in the car. My aunt was forced into the car by her drunk husband, he was going a little faster and ended up swerving into a power line and passed away instantly but the husband ended up living. Drunk driving is one of the most reckless driving in the world and millions of people die a year from it. Not only does drinking and driving cause deaths there are so many ways to be an unsafe driver.

I do have to admit I dreamed of being a race car driver for years. Growing up in a family that races cars you grow more and more fond of driving fast. Feeling the first time that helmet slips on, the first time you can finally release that clutch and hear that engine purr. Then after driving for about a year now and seeing all the dangers of the road I can’t tell you how many times I have had my heart drop to the floor when hearing someone in my family got into a crash. Nowadays I want to just keep the roads safe and be able to tell my mom I got home okay. Racing might be fun but knowing what I do now I would never want to be the reason my mom or anyone else’s parents got a phone call from the hospital that they were dead or even just injured. Seeing my mom break down when she got that exact call was heartbreaking.

About 1.35 million are killed in a car crash a year, 20-50 million people on top of that are injured and even disabled. Just remember there are many different steps to making the road a safer place for us and many generations to come. Save people’s lives more and more everyday and if you truly wish to do just that. The first step is to make sure you never get behind the wheel under the influence and second that you and your passengers are buckled up and secure. Now this might not be serious to most people but one big thing is to always let someone know where you’re going and when you have gotten there. This is to make sure if something were to happen someone could end up saving your life.

We have traffic laws put in place for a reason. Seat belts, blinkers, stop signs and many more. If you or anyone else you know are struggling with how to drive safely there is always a DMV traffic class you can take. This class will teach you the laws and why those laws were put into place. One big thing is all traffic laws are put in place to prevent chaos and the safety of others. Keep you and others safe, buckle up everyone. Life turns out the way you want it to. Stear the right way.