A Phone Worth More Than A Life

Joidyn Wester

[email protected]

(404)838-1776

Douglas County High School

10/10/2001

Irresponsibility is often associated with being a teenager,
therefore, some leeway is granted when foolish decisions are made.
However, this is not permissible when on the road and for proper
reasoning. When I first began to drive, I had an intense fear of
being in a car accident to the point where I would tense up and tear
up behind the wheel. But as I became more comfortable with the idea
of driving, I became careless. I excused myself when I would get on
my phone or when I would try to eat while driving believing that I am
a masterful driver.

This
soon changed for me when my friend Denver got into a car accident.

Similarly to me, Denver practiced safe driving initially, but then he
got comfortable with not focusing on the road due to friends being a
distraction or his phone. On May 22, 2018, Denver got into an at
fault car accident. He rear ended another vehicle because he decided
to look at his phone. Fortunately, it was not a fatal accident, but
it could have easily been one. Hearing him call me and cry because of
the damage it did to his car as well as the damage it did to the
other driver proved to be a wake up call for me.

I began to watch lectures that discussed the importance of defensive
driving, and I began to be an advocate for driver safety within my
own community through clubs such as S.A.D.D (Students Against
Destructive Driving). Through advocacy in the community, my high
school saw a significant drop in speeding, and unsafe driving habits
such as not wearing one’s seat belt. The results from my school
alone showed me how influential and important drivers ed is
for everyone, not just new drivers. When you learn how to drive
defensively, accidents such as Denver’s practically diminish, and
our roads become safer. In order to reduce the number of deaths from
car accidents, the most important part is making people connect with
the stories of others because it can be hard to put yourself in these
situations when you have no personal experience. Anyone can hear a
story, but in order for a story to impact someone’s life, it has to
be personal. Once people realize that they are not invincible and
that a car accident can happen to anyone, then we will be able to see
progress in the reduction of deaths due to car accidents.