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.