I can almost remember when I got my driver’s license. Unlike most kids my age I was scared. My parents constantly reminded me of the dangers behind driving and the added-on responsibility it insinuated. Not to mention the Joshua’s Law course I took which emphasized how a car was not a toy but a weapon. While I can’t speak for everyone, I can say that after taking the course it became glaringly clear that many kids my age had a distorted fantasy about what driving entailed. For most it was the idea of getting to have freedom, others said it would be escape. But how could a four thousand ninety-four-pound thing possibly be a gateway to escape or the path to freedom?
Like most Drivers Ed courses we learned about the roads and what to not do when driving, we were reminded of the dangers it could bring and how it could destroy our lives if not end it. We even watched videos of people who testified about these scenarios where they had either fooled around, drunk too much or just didn’t know one thing about the road. All of these people though had one thing in common: they or someone they loved, had paid a wretched price for it. In addition to these testimonies, we watched a video that really made my skin crawl: actual car accidents. Like the previous videos they too had something in common; most of the people were texting while driving, not paying attention or on their phone. It all screamed the same thing to me; driving was not a joke, and it certainly wasn’t the end all be all that a lot of my classmates were making it seem like. While it only heightened my idea of driving it was an even louder wakeup call after Joshua’s Law course ended, and it is something that stuck with me even to this day.
If I were asked now what steps someone could take in order to prevent deaths through car accidents it would be to take it seriously. Driving is not a game or something that should be “fun”, when you are reaching your destination through automobiles or motorcycles you are holding your life and possibly others in your hands. Every decision counts. Another step is to discipline yourself, especially when you are getting ready to receive your license. While on the course I heard several ideas of how you could do this. One said that you could put your phone in your glove compartment another said that you could mute it or put it on DND. There are plenty of ways that you can distance yourself from the temptation that is your phone so you can save not just your life but others. Something else you can do to prevent deaths would be to become aware of your surroundings. Once I started actually paying attention to how I got home and the obstacles I would have to endure I was prepared to face them. Just by noting small things like that pothole near the yield sign, the missing stop sign you pass, or even broken traffic lights can be your saving grace. The last step that I would provide is to make sure you know who you are riding with as well as offering a ride too. By doing this you can limit the distractions you allow inside your car and the possible dangers it might bring. It was these steps that allowed me to never be in a car accident as well as the people around me.
As we go through our adolescence and teenage years, we will find that the most anticipated moment is getting closer and closer. That soon enough the wheel of that dream car will be in our hands. While most people will see it as an escape or a sign of adulthood, it is important that we look past this falsehood and see it for what it is; a weapon that could destroy or end our lives and/or our neighbors. It is important that we begin to take driving seriously, try to detach ourselves from technology way before we even touch the wheel, become alert to our daily surroundings and see that driving is not a game or some mental outlet. It is a weapon, only playing dress up as a toy, trained to hurt us if used irresponsibly or without care. When driving we need to constantly remind ourselves and others of that, so we can reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by this daily activity.