Forgetting the Human Within

Sara
Kathryn Wierwille

DMV
Education Essay Contest

Driving
is a privilege, not a right. This can be hard to remember since most
people in the United States own and depend upon a car or truck to get
everywhere they need to go for school, work, and just about
everything else they need to do.  It is easy to lose track of
our responsibility to keep others on the road safe when we are late
to work or rushing home from the store so our ice cream does not
melt. It is critical not to forget that the cars surrounding us on
the road also hold other humans.  Unfortunately, automotive
technology does not help us.  What we see are two to four ton
boxes of steel and glass.  Tinted windows and distance allow us
to forget the people within.  And the power of our vehicles can
change us.  Petite people can be domineering in a pickup truck
and larger, slower people can be agile in sports cars.  The
outside face of the boxes driving around can be misleading.  The
person with the life, family, and friends can easily be lost when all
we see is the steel box on wheels.

This
separation desensitizes us from the danger we all take on when we
step behind the wheel.  It can make us careless. When we open
our car doors, we climb in all tangled up in our own thoughts and
priorities and distractions.  We can easily keep that focus on
ourselves, keep our own needs above others.  This is the real
danger in driving, this human error. Many accidents are caused by not
paying attention, by being aggressive, by thinking “where I am
going is more important than where anyone else is going.”  

I
have made this mistake. One day, I was driving back to school from a
doctor’s appointment. I had a really important test and I really
did not want to be late. I was worried that I would not finish in
time before my club meeting after school.  I became so wrapped
up in my own problems that I rear ended the car in front of me. The
air bags went off, my car was totaled.  Thankfully, the car in
front of me was barely damaged.  Most importantly, the woman
inside was ok.  I learned in just a few seconds how much my life
could change and how much I could change other lives because I was
distracted while driving.  It was not an easy lesson.  I
was a senior in high school and without a car, but luckily my parents
were able to drive me to school and my job.  I had to go to
court four times, take defensive driving classes, and pay a fine. 
On top of it all, I now have a thin, pale scar down my forearm to
remind me of my mistake. I know now never to drive full of emotions
or even with other thoughts in my head.

When
driving, we must leave our emotions outside the car.  Driving
requires having a level head.  We must be alert and ready for
anything.  This is much easier said than done.  In America,
productivity is everything.  Our worth is measured by how much
we can accomplish. Driving can simply be seen as dead time just
waiting to be maximized.  This is a false and frankly dangerous
way to think. All other worries must fall away when you sit in your
car, put on your seat belt, and turn the key.  There is no
eating, texting, studying, talking on the phone, or even deep
thinking.  All of these activities take our attention away from
the road.  There can be no such thing as multi-tasking if you
are going to drive safely. 

Education
is the most powerful tool we have to combat the number of deaths due
to driving.  When knowledge is spread, we all can make better
choices when getting in the driver’s seat.  If we go in
clueless, how can we be expected to make the right choices? 
Information must be spread to all, not just those who can afford it. 
If we want defensive driving to be widespread, everyone must have
access to it.  Driving education should not be a one-time ordeal
either.  As times change, so do road precautions. Just look at
how phones have changed the practice of driving!  When we go
into the DMW to renew our licensees, it should be a requirement to
take a defensive driving class.  It does not have to last all
day and it should not consist of 20 year old videos.  It should
be dynamic with information that reflects the present times. 
Then, everyone will have the knowledge they need to make the right
choices.

Defensive
driving starts with you and me. It is easy to think we are an
exception, that just once we can break a rule, for a very good reason
anyway.  It was Jordan Baker from The
Great Gatsby who
defended her careless driving by saying “It takes two to make an
accident.”  This great insight should not be taken as a good
excuse. There is no logic in such thinking.  It is just a poor
way of justifying one’s selfish actions, of suggesting that one bad
act might not end up multiplied by millions.  So I say again,
defensive driving starts with you and me.  Proper and constant
education will help us know what choice to make, but it is our
responsibility to practice what we preach.  When we step into a
car, we must remember the human behind the glass and stay focused on
solely driving because protecting the lives of our fellow Americans
should be the only priority we have as we drive along beside them.