Name: Logan Sykes
From: Oviedo, Florida
Votes: 0
Sykes
1
Logan Sykes
5 November 2019
In
The Driver’s Seat
One
evening while watching the Florida-Georgia football, game my brother
got a call. When he jumped up and ran out of the house in terror, I
followed yelling, “I’ll drive”. His girlfriend was involved in
a car accident and hearing the distress in her mother’s voice was
heart wrenching. As we approached the flashing lights surrounding the
accident, I remember the fear on my brother’s face and the
startling sight of her overturned SUV. Before I could safely park, he
leaped out of my car and ran down the median. By the time I got to
the accident, the EMTs and local police were busy clearing the scene.
Thankfully, even though her vehicle had flipped, everyone was ok and
my brother’s girlfriend only experienced minor cuts on her arm from
the broken windshield. This traumatic experience emphasized to me
the importance driver safety and education.
I
was fortunate that my grandparents lived out in the country where I
was able to start driving tractors and pickup trucks at a young age.
Despite being very comfortable driving, my parents required me to
take a drivers ed class. I thought it would be boring, but
I learned quite a lot. Driving school taught me to keep my distance,
always pay attention to my surroundings, and to regularly maintain my
vehicle. One area I am working on to be a better driver is following
too closely. A lot of times I find myself getting too close to
another vehicle when they are going under the speed limit. However,
the statistics and videos we watched in drivers ed often
flash through my memory. Due to my driving school experience, I know
that following too closely is an unsafe habit and I am attempting to
correct myself.
While my brother’s girlfriend was lucky, not everyone survives
automobile accidents such as hers. According to DMV.org, every day
nine people die in the U.S. because of distracted driving. This
statistic emphasizes the need to reduce cell phone use by drivers.
Unfortunately, using cell phones and communicating via text messaging
while driving has become too much of a cultural norm. Many states
have already taken legislative steps to make texting and driving
illegal, but I don’t believe the current laws are going to be
enough. Luckily, several companies have developed cell phone apps
that prevent phone usage while driving. I believe expanding the laws
to include making such apps mandatory on all cell phones would make a
far greater impact on reducing distracted driving.
If my brother’s girlfriend had participated in a driver’s
education class, I believe she would have avoided her accident. While
she wasn’t texting and driving, she was distracted by talking on
her cell phone. Drivers ed would have taught her the rules
of the road, allowed her to gain experience driving with an
instructor to guide her, and shown her videos demonstrating the
real-life dangers. Drivers ed classes are a valuable tool
in reducing automobile related deaths.
