Cause. Affect. Change?
2026 Driver Education Round 2
Samyrah Bautista
Armona, California
Many people don't realize that the knoledge of driving and being behind the wheel is extremely important. Lives can change in an instant based on what you do when you’re behind the wheel. Every person has a their own free will, the question is; will you use yours for cause or for change?
The Facts -
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are roughly about 6.18 million police-reported vehicle collisions each year. 0.59% of those accidents have been reported to be fatal, that's more than 35 thousand deaths in the U.S each year. That also means that the survival percentage rate for those who’ve been in a vehicle collision is over 99%. Although this is a high survival percentage, survivors of vihichle accidents endure long-term physical and mental health. NHTSA studies showed that 39% of all reported crashes resulted in a physical injury. Where as the American Psychological Association (APA) did their own study on the topic, and estimated that 30% to 50% of crash victims suffer a long-term psychological injury. According to NHTSA “94% of all motor vehicle crashes are caused by human error. Only about 2% to 6% of crashes stem from uncontrollable elements like mechanical failures or unexpected environmental hazards.”. This fact is true, many times humans have distractions around them, drive over the speed limit, make overcompensating decisions when under pressure on the road, etc. All these reasons and more are what can change a life in an instant, so we need to really acknowledged and considered the facts and start to change them. It's important to be a law abiding citizen, and encourage it on others. It would also be beneficial to improve our roads and speed, this could reduce both the likelihood and severity of crashes. There are endless number of things and decisions that can help reduce the number of deaths because driving. If we all choose safety first, then we can change the facts for the better.
Cause & Affect -
I have the knoledge and licence to drive, and I would consider myself a safe driver, but, this wasn’t always the case. It was 2 years ago, when I got into my first vehicle collision accident, and I was the cause of this incident. I’m not proud of that time in my life, and I know I could’ve did things differently, but I can't change my past. I remember it like the back of my hand though, I was only 16 years old, dealing with depression, abusing substances, and I had to manage a school/home life balance. My depression started in jr. High, then I started using substances when I attended public high school, but when enrolled to an online school my sophomore year, I still felt the need for substances. I didn't have a licence at the time but my mom did show me the “key details” to driving. So when she figured I had the hang of it, she let me drive her truck on my own. That was when things really took a turn for the worst. I was able to freely do or get the substances I wanted on a daily basis, and many times I would be under the influence while driving. This was only the case because the problem had been going on for so long that I didn't think it was a problem at all. Then one day, my mom asked me to pick up my sister from school, again, because it became a regular thing when I started driving. Mind you, it's 12pm and I'm already intoxicated with liquor, and right before I leave the house, I take another big gulp out of the bottle I had in my room. I leave the house and pick up my sister, but then I realize how hungry I am. I didn't want her finding out about my secret, but I really did need food in my system. So I “played it cool” and asked her if she wanted some fast food to make her think it was her idea. She said yeah so I ended up ordering from McDonald's for pick up. Then whe get there, park, wait, and then they finally bring us our food. As I'm reversing the truck to leave the parking lot, I hear a loud screech and then a heavy thud like sound. I realized as I got older that the “screech” sound was the tire, and I didn't realize how hard/heavy my foot was on the peddle, but that was only because I was under the influence and I thought my driving was fine. I knew what had happened without even looking back, but I didn't want it to be happening. I ended up pulling to the side next to the car that I backed up into. A woman walked up to my window and asked me for my car insurance information. I could feel my heart rasing, and my thoughts spiraling, and I was so scared of what might happen that I drove off from the scene. My ears were ringing but I could hear my sister in a panic as well, telling me to go back, but no, I continued to drive. When we got home it was just the two of us in the house, all I told my sister was “do not tell mom, Please! I need to be the one to tell her.” She was still really shaken up, but she agreed she would’nt tell our mom. Now unfortunately, I didn't up telling my mom until the next day, only because I was forced to. Naive 16 year old me though this incident would pass, so I did nothing about it, and just carried on with my life. I decided the day after would be the day I run some errands (bank, school, etc), then as I'm driving I see red and blue lights in my rearview mirror. So not only do they pull me over for the hit and run, but I get a ticket for driving without a licence, and when I finally do call my mom, she tells me that the truck doesn't have insurance, so that was another ticket. Then the officer gives me my court date receipt, and fast forward 2 months, the case gets dropped and I just have to meet with a P.O. Finally after 3 months I finally see someone about the incident, and this P.O tells me something that I never would've expected. He informed me that the woman I got into the collision decided to drop any charges and let the matter go. I was free to leave and it's like it never happened, in person or on file.
Change -
All odds were against me, I was the perpetrator in this case, and yet, I was still able to walk free. As I got older I started to realize that I could've seriously hurt or even kill someone all those times I chose be a reckless driver. Like I said though, I can't change my past, but I can use my past to shape my future. I realized my mistakes, I took accountability, and learned from my past for the better.
After my unfortunate and yet granting turn of events, I took it upon myself to do the right thing and take drivers ed courses. I practiced and studied the written driving text frequently, and memorized all the important car and emergency features in the car. Then, when it came time to practice for my driving test, only did I do so with my parent present. All these things in my essay helped me become a better, safer, knowledgeable, and more humble driver. I encourage people to take into consideration recourses that are offered to help make safer and knowledged drivers in the world. They helped me, they can help you, and if we help each other, we can be the change in the safety of our roads.
The Facts -
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are roughly about 6.18 million police-reported vehicle collisions each year. 0.59% of those accidents have been reported to be fatal, that's more than 35 thousand deaths in the U.S each year. That also means that the survival percentage rate for those who’ve been in a vehicle collision is over 99%. Although this is a high survival percentage, survivors of vihichle accidents endure long-term physical and mental health. NHTSA studies showed that 39% of all reported crashes resulted in a physical injury. Where as the American Psychological Association (APA) did their own study on the topic, and estimated that 30% to 50% of crash victims suffer a long-term psychological injury. According to NHTSA “94% of all motor vehicle crashes are caused by human error. Only about 2% to 6% of crashes stem from uncontrollable elements like mechanical failures or unexpected environmental hazards.”. This fact is true, many times humans have distractions around them, drive over the speed limit, make overcompensating decisions when under pressure on the road, etc. All these reasons and more are what can change a life in an instant, so we need to really acknowledged and considered the facts and start to change them. It's important to be a law abiding citizen, and encourage it on others. It would also be beneficial to improve our roads and speed, this could reduce both the likelihood and severity of crashes. There are endless number of things and decisions that can help reduce the number of deaths because driving. If we all choose safety first, then we can change the facts for the better.
Cause & Affect -
I have the knoledge and licence to drive, and I would consider myself a safe driver, but, this wasn’t always the case. It was 2 years ago, when I got into my first vehicle collision accident, and I was the cause of this incident. I’m not proud of that time in my life, and I know I could’ve did things differently, but I can't change my past. I remember it like the back of my hand though, I was only 16 years old, dealing with depression, abusing substances, and I had to manage a school/home life balance. My depression started in jr. High, then I started using substances when I attended public high school, but when enrolled to an online school my sophomore year, I still felt the need for substances. I didn't have a licence at the time but my mom did show me the “key details” to driving. So when she figured I had the hang of it, she let me drive her truck on my own. That was when things really took a turn for the worst. I was able to freely do or get the substances I wanted on a daily basis, and many times I would be under the influence while driving. This was only the case because the problem had been going on for so long that I didn't think it was a problem at all. Then one day, my mom asked me to pick up my sister from school, again, because it became a regular thing when I started driving. Mind you, it's 12pm and I'm already intoxicated with liquor, and right before I leave the house, I take another big gulp out of the bottle I had in my room. I leave the house and pick up my sister, but then I realize how hungry I am. I didn't want her finding out about my secret, but I really did need food in my system. So I “played it cool” and asked her if she wanted some fast food to make her think it was her idea. She said yeah so I ended up ordering from McDonald's for pick up. Then whe get there, park, wait, and then they finally bring us our food. As I'm reversing the truck to leave the parking lot, I hear a loud screech and then a heavy thud like sound. I realized as I got older that the “screech” sound was the tire, and I didn't realize how hard/heavy my foot was on the peddle, but that was only because I was under the influence and I thought my driving was fine. I knew what had happened without even looking back, but I didn't want it to be happening. I ended up pulling to the side next to the car that I backed up into. A woman walked up to my window and asked me for my car insurance information. I could feel my heart rasing, and my thoughts spiraling, and I was so scared of what might happen that I drove off from the scene. My ears were ringing but I could hear my sister in a panic as well, telling me to go back, but no, I continued to drive. When we got home it was just the two of us in the house, all I told my sister was “do not tell mom, Please! I need to be the one to tell her.” She was still really shaken up, but she agreed she would’nt tell our mom. Now unfortunately, I didn't up telling my mom until the next day, only because I was forced to. Naive 16 year old me though this incident would pass, so I did nothing about it, and just carried on with my life. I decided the day after would be the day I run some errands (bank, school, etc), then as I'm driving I see red and blue lights in my rearview mirror. So not only do they pull me over for the hit and run, but I get a ticket for driving without a licence, and when I finally do call my mom, she tells me that the truck doesn't have insurance, so that was another ticket. Then the officer gives me my court date receipt, and fast forward 2 months, the case gets dropped and I just have to meet with a P.O. Finally after 3 months I finally see someone about the incident, and this P.O tells me something that I never would've expected. He informed me that the woman I got into the collision decided to drop any charges and let the matter go. I was free to leave and it's like it never happened, in person or on file.
Change -
All odds were against me, I was the perpetrator in this case, and yet, I was still able to walk free. As I got older I started to realize that I could've seriously hurt or even kill someone all those times I chose be a reckless driver. Like I said though, I can't change my past, but I can use my past to shape my future. I realized my mistakes, I took accountability, and learned from my past for the better.
After my unfortunate and yet granting turn of events, I took it upon myself to do the right thing and take drivers ed courses. I practiced and studied the written driving text frequently, and memorized all the important car and emergency features in the car. Then, when it came time to practice for my driving test, only did I do so with my parent present. All these things in my essay helped me become a better, safer, knowledgeable, and more humble driver. I encourage people to take into consideration recourses that are offered to help make safer and knowledged drivers in the world. They helped me, they can help you, and if we help each other, we can be the change in the safety of our roads.
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Essays are contributed by users and represent their individual perspectives, not those of this website.
