A Dying Youth

A
Dying Youth

In the Summer of
2018 two young ladies, Chloe Robinson and Salma Gomez lost their
lives in a DWI car crash. At just 16 years old, Chloe and Salma lost
their lives in a completely avoidable situation. They were not alone,
in fact, they weren’t even the ones driving. At the wheel was 17
years old Jagger Smith who was also drunk along with the two girls.
The practice of driving responsibly is not emphasized enough. Two
young ladies lost their lives due to a night of being irresponsible,
two young ladies who were honor roll students and showed lots of
promise in their futures. Our youth is the future and our future is
dying in senseless car accidents.

Car
accident prevention begins with helping teens gain the experience and
skills necessary to stay safe while driving on the road. Numbers show
that car crashes are still the number one cause of death for
teenagers in America. The fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16 to
19-year-olds is nearly three times the rate for drivers ages 20 and
older. Fatal crash risk is highest for those ages 16 and 17. For that
reason, I feel as if the legal age limit for having a driver’s
license should be raised to 18 years old. While it will not stop teen
car accidents I feel as if it can greatly decrease numbers and give
our youth a chance at being our future.

March
20, 2016, two friends of mine, Jade and Brianna Robinson lost their
lives after colliding with an 18 wheeler. Neither one of those
sisters was driving but they along with 2 other young ladies were in
that car taking a road trip. The driver over that car was on her
phone and began to drift into the left-hand lane against traffic. By
the time she looked up, she was bumper to bumper with an 18 wheeler.
Her along with the other three passengers died on impact. Jade and
Brianna were sisters, volleyball players. Brianna was 19 years old
and she played volleyball on the collegiate level while her sister
Jade was 17 years old with a scholarship to go play volleyball on the
collegiate level. Two young ladies, full of life, full of promise,
and they’re gone too soon. A greater emphasis must be placed on
safe and smart driving.