Name: Pandorah Davis
From: Cashion, Oklahoma
Votes: 0
Davis 2
Pandorah Davis
23 September
2019
How Unsafe Driving Changed My Life
The morning of September 15th, 2015 started as a typical day. I
just started my freshman year of high school, and while I was only
fourteen, my mind was set on getting my drivers permit as soon as
possible. Later that night, after settling in after a long day of
school, I received the news that would change my life forever. My
best friend Christopher Curran had died in a car crash. He was
fifteen, riding in a car that his friends were carelessly driving. As
they sped down the dirt roads of my tiny town, they failed to notice
a driver who sped past a stop sign. Chris was pinned under the
vehicle and immediately killed.
The funeral that followed after celebrated his life, but the only
thing on my mind was the fact that if things were done differently,
if they had been safer and more aware, my best friend would still be
alive today. What if Chris had worn his seatbelt? What if his friends
realized the car they were speeding past was barrelling towards them?
What if the driver of the other car paid attention? What if the roads
were safer? What if? As these thoughts circled my mind, other
students who were friends of his began to wonder as well. This is the
moment a group of high schoolers began to question our town and the
people who were supposed to make it safe. We pressed the Kingfisher
County Court Commissioners to lower the speed limit (which was
fifty), asked them to put up stop signs, and demanded they mow the
tall grass by the intersections. This was all met with no reply from
those in power who supposedly cared about our lives.
While this story is meant in no way to criticise those doing their
jobs, we must, as a community, ask what can be done to keep young
children like Chris safe. How do we start the conversation of road
safety? How do we inspire change regarding road laws and maintenance?
Oklahoma is known for its pothole-ridden roads. How do we fix this?
How do we prevent another untimely death?
The solution is not simple and there is no single answer. Parents
must be willing to discuss these tough issues, such as deaths behind
the wheel. We must be willing to critique ourselves as drivers, and
we must be willing to do better. Parents discuss the dangers of
texting and driving with their teens, yet they continue to do the
same thing themselves. People are more willing to point the finger at
others when an accident does happen, but they do not think to look
deeper for any mistakes they may have made. I wish Christopher could
have seen what the circumstances behind his death caused. I wish he
knew that a group of teenagers were so affected by his death, they
decided to stand up to those who were supposed to protect us. We
sparked a conversation that not many have thought about in this tiny,
dirt road town. Chris inspired me, and many others, to drive
carefully, all in his memory. Our grief will not go unheard, nor will
the grief of the loved ones of those 34,000 who die every year while
driving. We will be the safe generation.
