Name: Julia Nicole Gizzo
From: Seaford, NY
Votes: 0
I jolt awake
from my dad’s voice downstairs. It’s 7:00 in the morning and I’m
supposed to be leaving in five minutes. I get ready for school in a
frenzy, as usual, and I jump into my car, thinking about the English
homework I need to finish. I take the same route I’ve taken every
single day for the past four years. As I approach the stop sign at
the end of the road, I slow to a quick stop and then inch out. My
groggy brain sees a car coming up on the left, but they have a stop
sign too so I begin making my turn. The next thing I know the car is
right in front of me, and then the air bag and the most putrid smell
of smoke. I’m pressing the brake so hard, but the car keeps
accelerating. Ten minutes ago, I was asleep. Now I’m stuck in an
out-of-control car headed into oncoming traffic. My brain turns on
again and I’m able to pull over and shut the car off. When I get
out and look at my car, I am speechless. The lights are dangling from
the front, all wires exposed, and the license plate is completely
hidden within the crumbling metal.
I was lucky.
Accidents like these happen every single day, especially with new
drivers, and many people aren’t as fortunate as I was to walk away
without serious injury. I practiced driving with my parents for
months, took drivers ed at my school last year, and passed my
road test on the first try. I wish I could say that practice makes
perfect when it comes to driving; that if you have a lot of
experience on the road, you will never be in an accident.
Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. Drivers need to constantly be
on the lookout for others who are driving unsafely to take
precautionary measures to prevent an accident.
Drivers ed is necessary for new drivers to become acquainted
with the rules of the road and to learn how to react in certain
driving scenarios. However, what’s most important for new drivers
to remember is that every time they sit in the driver’s seat, the
lives of everyone in their vehicle and in every other vehicle they
encounter are at risk. Distracted driving doesn’t always take the
forms that are most frequently publicized, like drinking or texting
while driving. Other possibly fatal mistakes, like driving while
tired, upset, eating, adjusting music, or talking to passengers need
to be emphasized more in drivers ed courses to reduce the
number of deaths related to driving.
After the crash, I’ve learned that the most important part of
driving is to remain completely aware and focused on your
surroundings. Now, every time I get in the driver’s seat, I remind
myself to pay attention to the road at all times, because that I know
that any mistake that I make can be fatal.
