“Driving a 4,000 Pound Weapon”

“Driving a 4,000 Pound Weapon”

There are 34,000 dead.

They did not die because of a natural disaster, they did not die because of the pandemic, they did not die because of a war. They are all dead because of the 4,000-pound weapon in the driveways of the people. Cars are essential to daily life, yet they kill us daily. If transportation is so essential why have we not found a way to prevent these deaths?

We have.

When teens turn 16 they can finally obtain their license, however, they have to complete a course educating themselves on the rules of the road. Then they have to complete lessons with qualified driving instructors, finally finishing their training by taking the final driving test. Teens might be extremely careful while driving at first, then they become too confident in their abilities and some of the rules they learned in their training, are no longer being followed while they drive.

Adults are most guilty of this. I witness it every time I drive with my parents, they believe a short glance at their phone won’t kill anyone. Wrong. It just takes one second, one distraction. I was licensed at sixteen, two years ago, in those short years since, I have almost been hit multiple times due to adults using their phones. If I would have been distracted at those times, I would most likely not be here writing this essay.

Phone usage is not the only leading cause of car accidents, there is also, driving under the influence, driving while sleep-deprived, dissociation while driving, are all causes of car accidents. How can we as a society lower the number of deaths caused by car accidents per year? The first step is for everyone to make an effort to strictly follow road laws.

Throw your phone in the back seat. If it is out of sight then it is out of mind. Without access to your cell phone, the number of distractions you have will significantly decrease. If there is any alcohol consumption, do not drive. There are now so many transportation apps, such as Uber and Lyft, that can take you home safely. More than 25% of all car accident deaths are caused because of driving while under the influence. By not driving you can not only protect yourself from a car accident, but you also do not risk the lives of others. Sleep-deprivation is something we all suffer from, from time-to-time. It can be extremely dangerous while driving, sleep deprivation can delay your responses. This can affect your driving greatly if there is a car that merges into your lane and you need to slow down to prevent hitting the merging car, sleep deprivation can delay your response to the merging car and can possibly lead to an accident. When you are feeling sleep deprived also utilize transportation apps, such as Uber and Lyft.

A teen’s driving education is important to their driving, and teens need to take it more seriously. To become a licensed driver you must complete a reading course to receive their permit to drive. Most teens in my experience from my friends gave little of their attention to this course and would skim through it and then spend their time on their phones. This course holds rules and accident prevention tactics that we don’t learn from our parents’ driving. Teens can mistake that course as something they just know from “common sense,” but the majority of teens that refuse to take their driving education seriously lack “common sense.” If as teens we start with taking driving seriously we can continue taking driving seriously going into adulthood.

I personally have experienced irresponsible driving my entire life, my parents do text and drive, my mom does her makeup while driving, and overall I have experienced distracting driving my entire life. I have fortunately never been in a car accident, but I have always wondered how many I could have been in if the other driver was distracted too.

I wanted to be a safer and more aware driver than my parents, and so when I started my driving education and fifteen and a half, I took it very seriously. I took my time and paid attention to my courses and understanding every rule and tactic to safe driving. Now that I have my license and my own car, I have continued safe driving. My phone is always out of sight, and I try to limit my distractions while driving. I do not ever want to risk my own life or someone else’s for my recklessness.

Every time you drive you are operating a weapon. A weapon that takes 34,000 lives annually. Help be the change and lower the number of family member loss per year. It is time to take driving seriously.