Imagine you are about to purchase a new BMW. While entering the car, the familiar new car smell is in the air. You have devoted all your extra bonuses at work to purchase the vehicle of your dreams. Once the papers are finally signed, a sense of relief washes over, like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. While taking the car for its first ride, thoughts keep buzzing through your head; I will take good care of my BMW! I will not any dent or scratch come u- right as you are finishing your thought, you crash with the car in front of you while traveling at speeds greater than 50 miles per hour. The next couple of days go by in a blink, only coming in and out of sedation only when the nurses forgot to sedate you once again. Two weeks later, you are cleared to return home. The following day, three bills arrive, one with the hospital name, the other from the BMW dealership, and the other with the DMV's stamp. While reading through the bills, only one thought remains- Where did it go wrong? According to World Health Organization (WHO), 1.35 million deaths are caused annually by car accidents. It infers that every 26 seconds, somebody dies from an accident. Did you know by the time you finish reading this, seven people will have died from a car accident? Every 26 seconds, an innocent life gets taken. Every 26 seconds, a family cries and moans over a dead body, what was once their family member. And one day, those 26 seconds could be the last 26 seconds of your life. While this may seem unnerving, it can still be fixed in time to save more innocent lives.

When taking my driver's education learning course, I noticed the same phrase would often be repeated, “Driving is a privilege, not a right”. After reading it over for what seemed the millionth time, I thought to myself- Why are they constantly repeating this phrase? One day I received my answer but in a brutal manner. It started as a normal day, I was coding at a camp, interacting with my friends, being annoyed at how early I had to wake up, etc… But things took a turn when it was time to leave. On my way home from a summer camp, we were taking a turn into a lane from the parking lot of the coding center. The road was extremely packed leaving no room for our van. However, when the light turned green, the cars who noticed us let us through. As we started crossing over lanes one by one, everything seemed to be smooth sailing. At least it seemed like it until a car that was speeding couldn’t stop in time and hit the side of our car. One second ago, I was shouting at the top of my lungs to Harry Styles, and the next moment, I was petrified at the sight of half our van crushed by a reckless driver. However, at that moment, I realized the importance of the phrase “Driving is a privilege, not a right”.

After that moment in my life, my driver's education course grew significantly in importance to me. The constant repetition of the phrase allows for the younger generation to treat driving a car as a big responsibility and not as a game, which greatly affects the way they act on the road, which in return could significantly lower the number of car accidents and lowers the number of deaths that occur on the road. Fast-forward to today, I have my permit and am working towards my license. During my time on the road, I notice that most drivers tend to drive 10-15 miles per hour above the speed limit, which, as a result, creates more dangerous driving conditions on the road. Correspondingly, I believe that stricter enforcement of speed limits needs to be implemented. I understand that individuals may be in a rush to travel from point A to point B, but I am a firm believer that it gives the driver no right to create such conditions which makes driving more dangerous. To practice what I believe, I abide by a pledge my parents made for me, which claims never to drive recklessly, and includes staying at or below the speed limit to create a safe environment for every driver. I also encourage any sort of attention to the public which stresses the importance of driving slower, to prevent more innocent lives from being taken away. While progress may come later, and others may resist the idea of driving slower, we as a whole will eventually come together and successfully recognize what has been ingrained in our heads for so long; “Driving is a privilege, not right”.