Name: Abigail Grace Faust
From: Cadiz, Kentucky
Votes: 0
A
Change In Perspective
I
remember being 15 years old and thinking “just wait until im 16,
I’ll have my permit and my parents will finally take me seriously”.
I turned 16, and then it was “six more months, and I can go
wherever I want and do whatever I want.”, I was itching for what I
thought would be complete and total freedom as the months slowly
creeped by. That mentality quickly changed the afternoon of November
27th, 2018. I came home after school to my parents sitting quietly at
the dining room table and the rest of my family solemnly hanging
their heads on the couch. I knew this reaction from my loud and
rambunctious family could only mean bad news. It was then they
delivered the news that my best friend since freshman year, was in a
car wreck that left her in critical condition. They allowed me to
process the news for a few days before they notified me of the harsh
reality that, I should be prepared to say my goodbyes. It didn’t
seem real, it was only the type of thing that happened to people in
movies. It made me question ever wanting to drive, it seemed like too
much responsibility and way too terrifying.
Thankfully,
a miracle happened, and my best friend pulled through after a week in
a coma, a broken spine, a broken neck, brain bleeding, intubation,
and a month spent in the ICU. However, her near death could have been
avoided had she known how to respond in the situation where safe
driving was compromised. The wreck occurred when she dropped off the
side of the road and over corrected, sending her through two lanes of
traffic and rolling into a ditch where her airbags didn’t deploy.
Her
wreck could have been avoided had she been educated on how to react
when she dropped off the side of the road. The dangers of
overcorrecting on the road are hardly talked about. While it is a
scary thought to have to prepare for the worst while driving it must
be done. One way the state of Kentucky could help prevent accidents
is lower the age of getting your permit to 15 years and 6 months so
that you would have a full year of experience of driving with a
supervising adult before you are allowed to drive on your own. It
would also allow you to learn how to drive in all four seasons of the
year so you could be prepared no matter what the weather conditions
are
