Name: Alexandra Grief
From: Carmel, IN
Votes: 0
Many high school teens take on an exciting new responsibility when
they turn 16: driving. As a young adolescent, driving is one of thee
most exciting things to happen in High School. It’s a new freedom,
it’s the first time taking a hold of something in our lives, it’s
something we can control. It’s an unfamiliar but thrilling new
experience. Now you don’t have to listen to your parents backseat
drive tell you which way to turn, to get into the next lane sooner,
or to slow down. Now it’s just you and the car; It’s all fun and
exciting, until you get a text from your friend saying that she got
in an accident, and that you need to get to the hospital. It’s
astonishing to learn that on average there are 34,000 deaths as a
result of driving, and around 5,000 of them were between the ages
15-19. Texting while driving is one of the most common causes of
accidents. We think we can because we’re invincible, however, it’s
not just a couple seconds that pass, usually it’s more than a few
actually and by that time we traveled a whole neighborhood street.
“It’ll only take a second” is something we all say, but it’s
never just a second. It’s important to inform others of the danger
of the new backseat driver, our phones, and how it’s not worth it
to send that last text or change the song. People tell you that all
the time, however, the truth is it seems worth it until it isn’t,
until something happens to you or someone you love. The point is we
have the power to change the numbers so our peers, friends, and
families don’t become just another statistic in someone else’s
essay. It all starts with one simple task; stay safe, just drive, and
spread the word. That text is not a make or break in your
relationships, social life, or anything else, it’s just a
notification. Drivers ed is one of the most crucial steps
to prevent such accidents, it can decrease the death rates
dramatically. It shows you not only the power you possess but that
you’re not the only one who possesses it’s important to go above
and beyond what the simple permit test grades you on. While driving
you not only carry your own fate in your hands but others as well.
The only way to stop this epidemic is through education, let’s
educate others through drivers ed long before they can
drive for themselves, and change the numbers for good.
