Name: Destin Belcher
From: North Las Vegas, NV
Votes: 0
In
my sophomore year of high school, an old friend from middle school
passed away due to a fatal car accident. He was on his way to school
one morning, and a drunk driver rear-ended him at a stop light. I
remember hearing about it in my 7th period world history class. I
remember not fully comprehending it at first, as I never had anyone
within my “circle of relevance”, for lack of a better term, die
so tragically. I remember breaking down even though I hadn’t talked
to him since our spanish class in eighth grade. Even in middle school
I wasn’t especially close to him; however, what really hit me was
the fact that I wasn’t invincible, how even someone like Jaelan –
someone that everyone looked up to as he excelled academically and
athletically – could lose it all due to someone else’s mistake. I
went through the stages of grief and wondered what could’ve saved
his life. 3 years later, I realized drivers ed would’ve
changed everything.
When
it comes to driving, there are several precautionary features and
techniques that can lower the yearly fatality rate, things like
interlock systems to prevent repeat DUI offenses, lane-centering
systems, and even self driving cars. However, this will never truly
eliminate that rate; at the end of the day, drivers ed is
integral to preventing all deaths on the road. Relying on a car’s
features to do the driving for you isn’t safe, as technology isn’t
100% accurate and is bound to malfunction. Rather, a combination of
common sense, drivers ed, and these features will be
fruitful.
The
man that killed my friend was a repeat offender, receiving 5 DUIs
after being sentenced for the death of my friend; he even attended a
victim impact panel and DUI school for one of his DUIs, but still
decided to get behind the wheel while being intoxicated. This
introduces one stipulation with drivers ed is that you have
to actively follow these rules. You can have all the knowledge in the
world, but it doesn’t mean anything if you refuse to use it
correctly. Refusing to follow the speed limit, look in blind spots
before merging, etc., is dangerous as it puts many people’s lives
at stake.
Unfortunately,
there are times where I find myself and others not following these
rules, and that’s due to a lack of self discipline. At the moment,
it may seem harmless to take a quick glance at your phone to change
your playlist or respond to a text, however, it’s endangering the
lives of many; it only takes one second of inattention to end
someone’s life. Even if you are a self-proclaimed “texting and
driving professional”, someone else messing up could hurt you, as
you weren’t fully attentive to the wheel. Drivers ed is
more than just knowing how and when to use these procedures, but,
it’s also about why you use these procedures: and that’s to
prevent fatalities on the road.
