In the Matter of a Moment

Olivia
Grace Fannin

In
the Matter of a Moment

Drivers
Education 2020 Essay Contest

As
a young teen, it is always one of your biggest goals to receive your
driver’s license. With that accomplishment comes many
responsibilities that are added to your plate. Whether it is driving
to the grocery store or driving across the country, one wrong move
can change your whole life for the worst. As each day goes by, it
seems like there are more and more reckless drivers on the road.
Those drivers are putting everyone in the vicinity of the area at
risk as every moment becomes reality.

About
three years ago, all my thoughts of driving changed. I was just
driving down the highway one day on the way to my softball practice.
There was car that was only about 100 feet ahead of me. They were
driving very recklessly and by reading the situation, I knew the end
result was not going to turn out well. They kept swerving into other
lanes barely missing other cars. About thirty seconds later, the car
slammed into a giant light pole. It then went spinning across the
road and I barely could slam on my brakes in time to avoid the
massive catastrophe. I pulled over as fast as I could to see if
everyone involved was okay. As I got out of my car and turned around,
I was not prepared for what I was about to see. The car that was the
cause of the wreck was impaled with the light pole. It made me so
nauseous just to see something so horrific caused by careless of
surroundings. The person involved did not end up surviving and three
other people from another car were killed as well.

Later,
the cause of the wreck was determined to be a five by eight inch
device that forever changed the lives of many families and friends. I
know it is talked about so much, but obviously it is still not talked
about enough because accidents dealing with texting while driving
keep occuring. While there is no possible way to stop it all
together, there are things we can do as humans to come together and
promote the absence of texting while driving. One look down to your
phone can affect the rest of your days. One text or one phone call
can wait. It is not worth all the pain it will cause in the end. In
my opinion, I think that everyone should have to retake their drivers
test every five years to ensure the safety of surrounding drivers. I
feel like our roads will be much more safe if we have responsible,
attentive drivers that know the risks of one bad decision.