Name: Madeline Baker
From: Round Rock, Texas
Votes: 0
Everyday
since my freshman year of highschool my older sister has driven us
into school. While we don’t tend to talk much, I always cherish these
early morning drives with her as we head bang to the newest songs on
her playlists or giggle at a funny bumper sticker on the car in front
of us. She is only one year older than me, but I look up to her in
many ways, she is one of my biggest role models. However, ever since
we’ve begun carpooling together, I have noticed she has changed as a
driver. In the beginning, she was cautious and careful, always went
the speed limit, and if she had to answer a text she would have me
type it so that she could focus on the road. She would even let me
play DJ so she didn’t have to worry about changing the station even
though she hated my music. This however has devolved throughout the
years. Now she is overly cocky when driving, goes over the speed
limit, and even texts while driving. It’s scary how people can get so
comfortable driving that they lose their common sense.
You
always see those people in their cars putting on their makeup in the
mirrors or snapchatting their friends with one hand while the other
is on the wheel, and you wonder – how do they do it? Often, they
don’t, or at least, not for long. With so many people dying in car
accidents in recent years, distraction while driving has been a
leading factor. This is why it worries me so much when I see my
sister become relaxed, as if texting and driving is a “normal”
occurrence when it definitely shouldn’t be. In order to combat the
rising car accident deaths we need to remind drivers of how they
first felt when driving. The roads are unpredictable, you never know
what could happen, so you must be alert at all times in order to make
the most informed decisions. Becoming comfortable to the point of
indifference to your surroundings is not an option, especially when
people’s lives are at stake. When you drive you take the lives of
yourself, your passengers, and everyone else on the roads into you
own hands – since when would it be seen as acceptable to disregard
this? Driving is a task that should not be taken lightly, not the
first day with your licence nor your 50th year driving. Every day is
the same, and every drive must be taken as seriously as the last.
