“It was so fun,” she said. “The music was loud, the windows were down, we were just having a good time playing around.” I couldn’t understand why irresponsible driving was considered fun. It takes only a second to see a catastrophe that has the potential to endanger every passenger. While driving is a right, we must also recognize it’s a privilege that comes with responsibility and that cannot be taken lightly. Every time you get on the road, there is a risk but we are in charge of how great that risk is. We must choose to always minimize that risk.

In 2019 alone, over 38,000 Americans lost their lives due to car accidents and over four million were severely injured, requiring medical care. In 2018, over 36,000 individuals lost their life with one million injuries. In 2016, over 34,000 were killed with two million injuries. Our society has subconsciously normalized car accidents that these numbers are taken lightly, regarded with little care or attention when the reality is the majority of these car accidents could have been prevented if responsible driving was practiced. Everyone that holds a license must acknowledge the power they hold on the road. Choosing to be irresponsible has the power to take a life or cause severe consequences. Being irresponsible is a choice that no driver should ever make and no passenger should ever accept. Always hold drivers accountable for their actions.

Obtaining a license comes with a sense of freedom but it also comes with accountability. By obtaining a license, you’re willingly putting yourself on the road with thousands of others. Refusing to hold yourself accountable for your mistakes or actions when driving only perpetuates danger. With a massive amount of car accidents, that was something my father had always stressed the importance of. Because of that, I’ve never personally been put in a compromising situation in terms of driving, I know several people who have and believe that it is acceptable. You should never willingly put yourself in a dangerous situation nor should you as a driver put others in a threatening situation.

When you acquire your license, you understand the steps that need to be taken to ensure safety, otherwise you wouldn’t have passed. When driving, the little acts make the biggest difference in your performance. These little acts are simple steps we can all take to be safer on the road and reduce the number of car related deaths. Your music shouldn’t be a distraction, your phone notifications can wait and most importantly, don’t engage in anything that takes your attention away from the road. Additionally, don’t be hesitant to practice driving even after you’ve obtained your license. More practice only leads to positive outcomes.

We shouldn’t look at car accident deaths and injuries as a normality, rather, we should look at it as issues that there are solutions to, solutions we need to take part in to create a safer driving environment for all.