Driving
Lessons From a Triplet
By
Austin Shwatal



As
a teenage triplet growing up with two siblings the same age as I am,
and with only two cars in the family, we constantly have to argue and
fight about who can drive to this place, and who can drive to that.
To us, it can appear like a competition to see who “wins” and
gets to drive. Yet often, I have to remind myself of just how
dangerous driving can be, and that it is a great responsibility to be
in control of the lives of two other people. 
Because
of that, I am very glad I had the chance to take a driver’s
education course before I sat behind a wheel. Before, I thought I
knew almost everything about driving. It turns out that my knowledge
just scratched the surface of everything there is to know about cars
and driving. From the rules of the road to proper car maintenance to
teaching correct maneuvers, an 8-12-week course is hardly enough to
learn it all. For people who don’t take a drivers ed
course, having the attitude I had before taking a driver’s
education class can be deadly. 
 One
of the biggest problems facing drivers today is distracted driving.
By far the number one culprit is cell phone usage. I have seen some
sources citing that upwards of 75% of drivers use their phone in the
car, and that is just unacceptable. To combat this, I am pleased to
see that some cell phone companies have created a “driving mode”
that prohibits their usage if it is moving past a certain speed.
However, I think the simplest answer is just to turn it off and put
it away. It may take discipline, but to avoid distraction the phone
can be placed in a glovebox or other hidden location to prevent any
urge to reach for it. 
This
issue is important to me because my brother is the biggest culprit of
this. At red lights and other stops, it is almost a given that he
will pull out his phone and I’ve seen him do it quite often while
the car is moving, too. Thankfully, we haven’t had any accidents
yet, but we’ve come close a few times. Each time, I have begged him
to stop using his phone, and of course in the heat of the moment he
always promises to. Sadly, that promise usually only lasts a few
days. I don’t know what it will take to learn his lesson, but I
don’t want to find out either.

Personally,
I have promised myself that I will never engage in risky behavior
like that. Every time I get behind the wheel, I always make sure that
my phone is off and hidden away so that I won’t use it. I do this
because I care about my family. I love my two siblings and couldn’t
bear the thought of living without them. Driving without being
distracted is one great way to make sure that stays that way.