Drive to Arrive Alive!

My name is David Hogg. I’m a teenager with a car. I took drivers ed when I was 16. They taught me how to drive safely, showed videos, did classwork as well as learned the statistics of traffic deaths. I’ll be honest, when I saw there were around 40,000 deaths by vehicle, it scared me. It scared my parents, too. When I watched the videos in class, I decided right there and then I was going to be a defensive driver. I vowed never to use my phone in the car, never to text, never to drink and drive, never to be tired while driving.

A year ago, I had a harrowing experience with another person that claimed to be a great driver. This friend followed too closely to other cars, went over the speed limit and was distracted. I was thankful when we finally arrived to our location and decided to call my parents to pick me up for the ride home. I was not going to get back in that car again with this person or anyone else that would drive erratically.

I have only been driving for a year now, but if more people could become defensive drivers, I think we could reduce accidents. We have to try to anticipate what could happen on the road and take steps to avoid them. I put my phone in the glove box when I get in the car, that way I won’t be distracted by a call or text. I still have it on, but those things can wait until I get to my destination, safely. I have my music on, but it’s at a level that I can hear what’s going on around me -- emergency vehicles, or horns from other vehicles. Also, we all need to remember to wear our seatbelts. It’s the law. I click mine in before starting the car.

I am sharing my experiences with my little brother as well as my friends. I want them to be safe on the road, and I don’t want them to hurt anyone else, either. We can all do our part by paying attention in drivers ed class and by always following the law.