Safer Roads for Tomorrow

Jesse
Ropers

Safer
Roads for Tomorrow

I
remember the first time I realized that the person who was driving me
wasn’t sober. I was 17, on my way back from a concert. I had no
phone, and was in a different city, so I had no other way back to the
place I was staying. I remember being incredibly tense as I watched
as she drove, glassy eyed. Ten minutes stretched to what felt like
ten years, and I sat in the backseat racked with fear. By some
miracle we managed to return to the place I was staying safely, but
it could easily have gone a different way. As I walked into the
house, I remember feeling more tired than I had in a very long time.

This
is an experience shared by countless people throughout America.
Every day people either drive intoxicated or recklessly while sober.
More than thirty thousand people die every year due to vehicle
accidents, yet it gets far less coverage than potential wars or
public tragedies. Things need to change drastically, to make
experiences like my own a thing of the past.

The
number one tool in reducing these daily heartbreaks is education.
Many people don’t realize that their behavior contributes to
thousands of deaths. Programs like Drivers Ed are essential for
this education. Proper handling of a car in extreme situations, the
importance of driving sober, and being an alert driver are all things
that are taught far more thoroughly in Drivers Ed than simply by
experience.

Another
important step that can be made is that we as individuals in our
communities that are reckless drivers. Having someone close to a
person urge them to stop unsafe driving behavior can be far more
effective than a stranger. If each person changes the behavior of
just one person than lives can be saved. Together, we can help make
safer roads for tomorrow.