Picture this: It’s a warm summer day, in the middle of July. The golden sun glistens on your skin, creating a warm sensation. The sky is blue, the ocean is too, and everyone has a beaming smile pasted on their faces. The windows are down with the breeze blowing in your face. You approach an extravagant bridge that overlooks the beautiful ocean, and spot a sight to see. A herd of unique sailboats, with colors galore, gliding with the flow of the ocean and the wind. You shout to your mom, who is driving the car, “Look at all of these cool sailboats!”, to include her in this moment of awe. She looks over in a sense of astonishment and enjoys the view, just like you. But who is paying attention to the road? Second by second, the wheel drifts towards the edge, but your mothers eyes are still glued to the boats, as well as your own. All of the sudden, you feel raised from the ground, like a gust of wind blew you off your feet. Your mother gasps and your heart stops, holding on for dear life as she takes the wheel and jerks it to the left. The tires rode up the wall of the bridge while your eyes were admiring the boats. Distractions cause harm. BOOM! Abruptly, you jerk back into your seat, due to another car hitting yours, putting both you, and your mother, in an awful position. Last summer, my mom, who is quite fearful of bridges, and I witnessed this right in front of us. In the blink of an eye, a beautiful day turned into someone's greatest nightmare. Thankfully, no one died, but they did suffer from severe injuries. The concern of safety while driving, doesn't just pertain to new, young drivers, but to everybody. People all over the world experience tragedies, due to irresponsible driving, and it's time to put an end to it. If you aren't driving responsibly, you shouldn’t be behind the wheel. It's not about being a good driver, it's about those 5 seconds you take your eyes off the road.

As a new driver, the risks of driving are fresh on my mind, for my own safety and others. As bad as it sounds, I feel that after awhile, drivers forget how dangerous the roads can be. They start swerving around other cars, speeding through school zones, and texting while driving. Not only are they putting themselves in danger, but they could run into another car, risking the lives of others. Nobody deserves that. When taking your drivers test, and even drivers educational courses, you are taught the proper, and safe ways of driving. Always keep your hands at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock, obey road signs and lights, keep your seatbelts on at all times, use your blinker, and so much more. If you don’t obey these rules, you risk the ability to earn your license. Everyone on the road had to have taken that test at least once in order to be behind the wheel, so how come some believe the rules are different once they get their driver's license? Just because your driving future is in the hands of an adult next to you on your road test, that doesn't mean you should respond differently when out on your own.

In the span of about 4 months, there have been a total of 3,133 deaths due to unsafe driving. From the beginning of the year, this many lives have been taken. So many families have grieved over these deaths. So many hearts are mourning. If people continue to drive unsafely, these statistics are going to continue to increase. How do we stop this? How can we be the change that our world needs? It starts with one person. One person that drives safe, saves so many lives. Now make it two people and the lives saved are doubled. The lives of people are in our hands. It may seem impossible to some that one in a million can make a difference, but if our generation can thoroughly continue to understand these risks throughout their entire lives and spread an enormous amount of awareness to everybody, our world can be changed for the better. All it takes is one. Be a leader, not a follower. Be that person who makes a difference.
Don't be the reason a family mourns. Don’t be the one who speeds because everyone else is. Don’t be someone who will regret their choices. Be the change our world and generation needs. Once again, it's not about being a good driver, it's about the 5 seconds you take your eyes off the road.