Do the right thing and drive safe

Tierra Ferguson It was the night before Thanksgiving of 2006 and my mother received a phone call that my father was involved in a very horrible accident. He had been drinking and driving. The accident my father was involved in almost cost him and someone else their life. My father was taken to the hospital due to his injuries. Seeing him in the hospital bed is a memory I will never forget. Till this day, I don’t think my father has ever gotten over that accident. A year ago, I lost my aunt to a tragic accident. A teenager was speeding down a street, and as my aunt was pulling out, he hit her vehicle. She and the passenger died on the scene. Every day I pass by the accident scene encourages me to be a safer driver. The most important step that will help reduce the number of deaths related to driving is not drinking and driving. If one has been at an event drinking, there keys should be taken away from them. Never driving while on prescription medications or illegal drugs is also important. When those substances are in your system, they can cause you to fall asleep at the wheel at any time. It’s important for drivers to put down their phones when they are behind the wheel. Text messages and social media will be there when you arrive safely to your destination, but your life won’t if you choose to text and drive. If I want others to be safer drivers, I need to be a safe driver myself. When someone else is in my car, I don’t allow them to distract me. For example, if they are trying to show me something on their phone, I ask them to wait until I am done driving. If me and my friends are going out, I make sure that someone is assigned to be the designated driver. A night of fun could turn into a night of sadness if we are not responsible. My friends always make jokes that I drive like a grandma. I go the speed limit for varies reasons. I don’t want to get a ticket and I don’t want to be involved in accident. I never know when someone is going to make an abrupt stop in front of me, or if my breaks might one day give out on me. Drivers education teaches young drivers how to be safe and responsible on the road. It teaches them the proper rules of the road. Without driver’s education, people will learn from relatives or friends who might not know the proper driving rules. I believe anyone that is learning to drive should take drivers education to be a safe driver and save lives.