Name: Caley Servin
From: Centennial, CO
Votes: 0
Caley
Servin 3
Slowing
Down to Speed Up
It
took Jen and I a few weeks
after the accident to get back out there
and drive more but we both
understood what we needed to work on
and what we excelled at. I never realized
how much focus and how many factors
went into driving. I have been
astonished by all the different minor
elements of driving that drivers even
with a miniscule amount of experience
seem to pull off effortlessly. It’s
important to realize that learning to drive
is no different than learning to
do anything else, if you slow down, you will
eventually speed up. After having my permit
for almost 4 months, I only
have 7 hours of driving time out
of 50 hours that I need and
5 minutes of night driving out
of 10 hours I need. I realize
I should have more hours but most
of that driving time has been
spent on smaller roads, back roads,
or in parking lots because I’m
terrified to be next to other cars
and risk forgetting one of the millions
of things you need to keep
track of while driving. I don’t
imagine many people see how much control
you have over those around you
when you’re driving. A car could kill someone
just as easily as a gun could. You could seriously
injure someone and even kill them or
yourself just by making one wrong
move or having poor judgment while
driving. Many people also take driving
for granted because they have had
it or as long as they can remember.
It’s extremely significant to take a
step back and truly evaluate what you
have and how much power seemingly
insignificant things, such as driving,
might hold. Learning to drive is
probably one of the hardest skills
I’ve had to learn in my life.
It’s hard for you to perceive what
drivers around you are going to do
and it’s hard for those people to
understand you’re still learning and they
need to be careful unless they
have a student driver sticker.
Behind
the wheel for the first time,
palms sweating, heart racing. “When
you’re ready, put your foot on the
break and put the car in drive”
my dad declared calmly. I slowly pushed
down on the break and put the car
in drive, still holding my foot on
the brake. “Ok”, I answered in a
distressed tone. My chest hurt from how rapidly my heart
was drumming in my chest. I
eased my foot off the brake and
gripped the steering wheel as if my life
depended on it. “Ok Caley, try
to give it a little gas now”,
my dad offered in a low and mellow
tone. Setting my foot on the gas, slow and light like a
feather, I circled around the church parking lot. I went
around close to five times, each time
becoming better than my last. Then it
was time I switched spots with my
sister. I got out of the driver’s
seat as she catapulted in. I was
feeling better already about learning to
drive. Unfortunately for my sister,
Jenna, that wasn’t the case. We
went back and forth, switching spots
every few circles approximately five more
times till it was Jenna’s turn
again. She turned down one
section of the parking lot, between
two islands and it was going great
for a while. My dad encouragingly
continued,“Ok Jen, go ahead and park
it now”. Jen was easing into a
parking spot right by an island
and she didn’t look as if she was
gonna make it so my dad pleaded,
“Stop! Stop! Break!” in a stern
tone. Jen knew she should stop but
she panicked. It was our first
time driving and she tried to
react so promptly that she got the
brake confused with the gas. The
car jumped onto the median, as a result killing
a sprinkler. My stomach erupted with a biter tingling, my mind
still attempting to absorb what had just happened. Luckily, it was
only a sprinkler that she hit.
I
believe drivers ed and practice could help limit accidents
like this. As kids we learn as we get older how to treat others and
go about our daily lives and much like learning to walk or talk, most
of us also learn to drive. Due to the large capacity of people on the
road, drivers ed is beneficial because it ensures everyone
follows the same rules. My dad always told me “you can’t always
predict what other people are going to do while driving but you can
anticipate the worst so you are prepared. Having this anticipation is
something I learned the hard way early on after rear ending someone a
couple weeks after getting my license because they slammed on their
brakes due to a pedestrian running unexpectedly into the road. This
situation could’ve been avoided if I had anticipated the chance of
the other cars stopping and left more room and if the other car could
have anticipated the unexpected obstacle. I believe anticipation and
awareness are two of the biggest factors in safe driving.
All
things considered, I was overwhelmed that day when my dad kept a
peaceful demeanor despite experiencing a slight accident. He
didn’t shout or get upset with Jenna, he just approached the
situation with caution, as if he was carrying an overflowing glass of
water. Since then, both Jenna and my
experience with driving is much better. I still
possess an anxious grip on the steering wheel
when other cars are around but
I trust myself in discerning what to
do and how to react to avoid
an accident. One thing that puts
me at ease is realizing if I
feel unsafe or have a question
about what to do, I can pull
over and halt. I’ve learned until I’m 100%
sure something is the right thing to
do, I should always: pull over, stop,
or ask my question before I
approach the situation. I can already
witness myself briskly becoming a superior and
confident driver; however, I still
have a lot of work ahead of me before I’ll be
confidently driving wherever I desire.
