Name: Kevin William Wise
From: Austin, AR
Votes: 0
I was in my first
car wreck when I was eight years old. My mother was driving and who
was distracted was not paying attention and “T-Boned” us. It was
one of the most terrifying moments in my childhood. The loud bang and
the shaking of the car still haunts me to this day. I was terrified
to start driving when I turned 16. Growing up, my mom always said
that driving a car is like driving a death machine. This continued to
scare me, however, I attended a driving safety course offered by my
high school where I gained confidence. I still had a fear of a car
wrecks and death, but I had confidence to protect myself and others
when on the road.
The safety course
was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. It not only
taught me about the importance of safe driving and effects of risky
road behavior, but taught me how to be a defensive driver that can
protect myself when on the road. I learned how to keep a safe
distance around me and the other drivers of the road. This would then
be followed up by a statistic showing how many teenagers die as a
result of car wrecks per year or a clip of a distracted driver
getting in a serious wreck. Many people are unaware of the effects of
a motor vehicle. They see a car as if it were a toy. However, toys do
not weigh 4,000 pounds and go at speeds of 70 miles per hour. That is
the equivalent to about 16 million pounds of force. That is not a
hotwheels or a barbie jeep.
How can we break the
idea of cars being toys? Show young people the damage cars can have
when used irresponsibility. Education is always the key to helping
others understand an issue. If people can not see it for themselves,
then how will they act on it. Enacting laws can work, but if somebody
understands the purpose behind the law it will be far more effective.
Show people the statistics of how much more likely they are to die
when not wearing a seatbelt. Demonstrate how texting while driving
slows your reaction and contributes to wrecks. Then the rate of these
deadly actions will begin decreasing.
We live in a golden
age of transportation. We can travel farther distance in one hour
today than people could travel in a few days 100 years ago. Being
connected through roads and new technology has brought us closer
socially. However, not to be cliche, but with great power comes great
responsibility. We must protect and treasure life that we have and
use our technology safely and responsibly. This can be done by
educating others and everything else will follow.
