Better
to Arrive 20 Mins Late Than Missing Out On 20 Years Yet to Come

Driving
is a vital skill we all need to learn at some point in our lives. I
always faced trouble finding rides for after school activities or
volunteer work. My parents had to drive me everywhere but they were
busy with their jobs, and my grandparents don’t know how to do
drive. I used the PACE bus, asked my friends for ride, sometimes
walked, and biked during summer school or when I needed to go to the
library. Driver Ed plays a significant role in everyone’s life
because not only the driver’s life but the people around him/her
are also in danger if a driver isn’t careful and well aware of
surroundings.


When
I took drivers ed in school over the summer of my junior year (I
know it’s a little late), I was lucky to have a teacher who shared
his experiences and made us aware of the responsibilities we’ll
soon have to take on. My teacher told us about how his own father was
killed in an accident when my teacher was only 3 years old. He was
almost in tears when he explained how his father went for a walk at
9 pm, after dinner, and a drunk driver ran over him even though he
was on a sidewalk. My teacher’s father was right around the corner,
and because of the booming noise, everyone in the neighborhood came
out. After taken to hospital, his father was declared dead and the
driver just left. However, legal action was taken but my teacher
said, “my father’s love was worth a lot more than just some fund
we received.” Due to this dreadful and horrendous experience, my
teacher decided to teach drivers ed. It was so inspiring and
motivating that he’s doing his best to make us, students, educated
about driving.


Car
crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers. Risky driving
is dangerous for all ages; however, teenagers go through major
accidents. To reduce the mortality rate caused due to risky driving
we must follow all the rules and regulations. While going to school
in the morning, I see a lot of people drinking coffee, doing makeup,
texting or video calling on the phone, and brushing their hair while
driving. Although it might seem it’s going to take less than a
minute, not paying attention for a second while driving can cause an
accident. Although GPS and Google Maps can make jobs easy sometimes
they’re the distractors so if a driver follows the same route every
day it would be better if memorized. Leaving a little early from
home, drinking coffee at work, declining a call, and memorizing the
daily routes would decrease the chances of an accident to less than
40%.


My
teacher says “when you’re driving think of your car as a bullet
that can kill anyone including yourself if not paid attention and
followed the rules.” I see people going over speed limit every day
not necessarily because they’re late but because they’re
confident that they’re good drivers. As we all know yellow light
indicates to slow down because it’s about to turn into red light
and we’d need to stop. Some people deliberately increase the speed
because they want to get across the intersection before the light
turns red. I would take my time and driver under speed limit, and be
a little late because “better late than never.” I would suggest
driving slow while in a residential, construction, park, school or
any crowded area. In addition, calling an Uber after drinking at bar
is a lot cheaper than paying for insurance and seeing the tears in
the eyes of loved ones. Driving is all about being patient, well
aware, well prepared, and responsible. Drive safely today so
you can see one more tomorrow.