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Stephanie Mena
“It Won’t Happen To Me”
Driving is a part of our daily routines. Just like eating, breathing, and showering, it’s something most of us do every day, something we need to do every day. Because of that, however, we’ve become so accustomed to it that we’ve eventually lost that initial fear, attention, and carefulness we once had for it. It's become so natural for us that we don’t really think twice when we go to make a turn a little too quickly because you’re “in a rush” or go over the speed limit because "there’s no one else on the road" or text someone back while driving because "it just can’t wait.”
Drivers ed does its best at reminding us when we start our driving careers that although all of these excuses are tempting, no excuse is ever worth potentially losing your life or putting others in danger. It works to prepare us enough not only to keep ourselves safe, but to allow those on the road with us a chance to come home to their loved ones at the end of the day. Drivers ed’s only goal isn’t just teaching how to drive, but it’s about teaching how to drive with a conscious mind, a mind that’s alert and awake, a mind that recognizes the responsibility it holds when your hands are behind the wheel and your foot is on the pedal.
Just like too many other Americans, I’ve experienced being in a car accident. A few years ago, my brother and I were on our way back home. It was late at night; we were both exhausted and all we wanted to do at that moment was go home and forget everything else. We were two turns away when we hit a car that was coming at us from the road on our right. My brother had not made a full stop at the stop sign and hadn’t seen the car coming. Luckily for us and the family in the other car, neither cars were going too fast and no one was severely injured. Though thankfully no one was hurt, seeing the woman carry her toddler out of the car as we waited for the towing truck struck me and it struck me hard. Had my brother stepped on the pedal a bit harder, the outcome could’ve been much worse.
To keep other people safe on the road, it’s crucial to follow the rules. Remember to turn on your blinker. Follow the speed limit. But being a safe driver goes deeper than that. To truly see a change in the tremendous numbers of driving-related deaths we must change our mindset. We see people get into car accidents, we hear about it on the news, but what we don’t realize is that it could happen to any one of us. At any time. The people around you on the road are people’s friends, sisters, brothers, dads, mom, grandparents. We must remember that.