Its up to all of us to keep safe

In
seven days I will have had my license for two years. Two years of
being on the road alone and having the freedom from being able to get
myself around without relying on anyone else. In my time on the road
I have never been in an accident. I consider myself lucky for this.
While I can credit my driving carefully for some of this, I know it
isn’t just up to me. 

In
2016, just as I was beginning to learn to drive my mom and brother
were in a car accident. Thankfully, no one was hurt. All it took for
them to be in an accident was one man judging timing wrong on a turn
and proceeding to hit an oncoming car which then spun into my mom who
was stopped at the light. She wasn’t even in motion and she was
still in an accident. 

Having
people in my family experience this as I was learning to drive taught
me that its not just up to you to stay safe on the roads but up to
others to keep you safe as well. Yes, I do my part. I look before
changing lanes, I don’t speed, I don’t go on my phone while
driving and I would never drink and drive but it’s also up to those
around me to keep me safe. It’s up to all of us to be responsible.
If no one were on their phones while driving, drove the speed limit
and no one drank and drove then the roads would be safer and there
would be less deaths on the road. Each person has a responsibility
and owes it to the other drivers on the road to drive responsibly.

When
I was little my family was coming home from hiking when a drunk
driver almost swerved into us on the freeway before hitting the
middle median. I don’t think I will ever forget seeing him crash
his car. It was terrifying. I saw his irresponsibility and how he
could’ve killed so many people with his actions, including my own
family. While there are laws against drunk driving people still
partake in it. It is the responsibility of each person to not drink
and drive and to act responsibly behind the wheel. Again here, my
family was doing nothing wrong and were driving safely but we were
still put at risk. It is up to each of us to drive responsibly in
order to save lives.

In
seven days I will have had my license for two years. I consider
myself to have been a safe driver during this time and I plan to
continue to be a safe driver. I will do my part and act responsibly
to keep both myself and others safe on the road  but I alone
can’t keep myself safe, it is up to each of us to be responsible
and vigilant in order to keep eachother safe and hopefully save lives
while doing so.