Name: Rebeka Renes
From: Syracuse, New York
Votes: 0
It
Only Takes A Second
by
Rebeka Renes
Every
sixteen year-old remembers the feeling of joy and relief when they
finally pass their driver’s test, and acquire their license. The
feeling of freedom and independence often overshadows the duty of
responsibility when maneuvering a machine as powerful as a car. “A
car is a weapon” my dad used to say, as I sighed and rolled my eyes
back, definitely not helping reduce his worry as I set out to drive
by myself for the first time. It took me probably around a couple of
months of getting a little too comfortable at the wheel for me to
make certain mistakes or have near-crash moments.
Thankfully,
I have never even as much as scratched any car I drove, but I have
had the unpleasant yet educating experience of seeing other kids my
age do so. Seeing other people my age get into crashes ranging from
small bumps to full blown, near-death accidents has really helped me
appreciate all those hours I spent in my drivers ed class,
as well as all of the driving hours I had participated in. It’s
unimaginable until it happens to someone you know; and that’s the
truth. Car crashes are extremely common, especially in young drivers.
Drivers ed is the key to preparing yourself before
committing to driving. You are taught extremely important lessons in
those programs that could very well save your life.
I
truly believe that the number of deaths related to car driving could
be reduced if people paid better attention to their driving classes,
and engaged in the application of those lessons when out on the road.
However, I also remember dreading my own driving classes, not because
I deemed them “unimportant” or irrelevant, but rather because
they were made too boring. I think that if professional driving
instructors had better resources and techniques for teaching safety
as well as maintaining their class’s full attention, more people
would be willing to actually pay attention. I strongly believe that
interaction is a powerful aspect for education—it gets the class
involved and stimulated.
Nevertheless,
drivers ed remains of utmost importance. Thankfully, I have
never had to experience an accident myself, but my best friend nearly
lost her life two years ago on the highway. The accident happened the
summer when we had both gotten our licenses, so it served as a very
powerful wake-up call to paying extreme attention when on the road.
She wasn’t the one driving, but the driver lost control of his SUV
in the pouring rain going 75 mph. In order to become a better driver,
you must take certain steps to evaluate yourself, your limits and
your competences. Being overconfident and comfortable can quite
literally kill you. Do not trust using a phone in the car, or
engaging in actions that require your focus in other places than the
road. Don’t do it; it’s not worth it. Even if it is a second… a
second is enough for a lifetime of consequences, should the
unimaginable happen.
