Name: MacKenzie Trexler
From: Miami, FL
Votes: 0
From the corner of
North DuPont Road, three blocks down to the corner of Edgehill Road.
That’s the distance that my mother and I covered before getting
into a life-changing accident.
It was the end of
my very first week of high school, ever. I was buzzing with
excitement to my mom about all of the new things I was experiencing,
unaware that I was going to experience a new first in the next few
moments: My first car accident.
We were sat for
only a moment at a stop sign when a car rammed into us from behind at
full speed. Smoke billowed and filled our car, my mom frantically
shouted out asking if I was okay and to get out of the car. When I
turned I saw that the car that hit us was completely crumpled in on
the front, it looked like it had come straight from an action movie
set.
The
driver got out of the car. She was a young girl, and wearing a school
uniform that looked just like mine. Her face was red and blotchy as
she screamed out how sorry she was. We later found out that she had
been texting.
Even
though it was “just a fender bender,” my mom sustained a spinal
cord injury that has left her with permanent nerve damage and daily
pain for the rest of her life. She can’t feel things in her hands.
Turning her neck the wrong way makes her nauseous. She can’t work
full-time. I have to do a lot of things for her, such as lifting
heavy items or driving her places.
From
the corner of North DuPont Road, to the corner of Edgehill Road. Less
than half of a mile. That is the distance it took for us to get hit
by a distracted driver.
According
to the National Conference of State Legislatures, distracted driving
played a role in at least 3,157 fatal car crashes in 2016. While the
majority of states have bans on texting while driving, these laws are
rarely enforced or carry small fines. Considering the heavy
consequences that distracted driving has, stricter penalties must be
taken into consideration in our legislation. Further
It
will also require more action in our daily lives. Large change begins
with small steps. We must shift the cultural norm to make distracted
driving unacceptable. To do this, we must spread awareness and
discourage our friends who we see Snapchatting while driving.
We
should prepare to drive as we prepare for a test. It is important to
know your route beforehand, and to attend to any business needed
before getting behind the wheel. Distracted driving is not a test
that you want to fail.
