Learning From My Own Mistakes

Nowadays, most teenagers see driving as a right instead of a privilege. They think that once they turn 16, they are automatically entitled to a driver’s license, and for some, a car. Honestly, I used to think similarly up until I got in a car accident while driving my dad’s car with my little brother in the backseat only three months after first getting my license. Thankfully, my brother and I were unharmed from the impact, but my dad’s car was deemed totaled. The accident brought many emotions upon myself: guilt for wrecking my dad’s car and gratitude that my brother and I were uninjured. But the strongest emotions I felt were shame and embarrassment for even getting in the wreck in the first place. I racked my brain thinking about how I could have prevented the accident and went over all the what-ifs in my head, but then I realized that there was nothing I could do anymore. The wreck already happened, and I could not change the past. However, I could take the steps to make it never happened again. My car accident made me realize how quickly your life change just from what was initially seen as an innocent car ride. Now, every time I sit behind the wheel, I make sure not to have any distractions such as my phone, the loud radio, or noisy passengers, who may divert me from concentrating on the road. These steps are extremely important because one little distraction that takes your attention away from the road could cost you someone else’s life, or your own. I have learned from my mistakes and now realize how important drivers ed is because you truly don’t realize how quickly a car accident can happen until it happens to you. In 2018, car accidents were the third most common cause of death in the United States, and that is not something to be taken lightly. Driving is not a right; it is a privilege that we all have to earn in order to show that we are responsible enough to drive safely and that we understand the magnitude of being able to drive because we are putting our own lives and hundreds of others at risk every time we get behind the wheel.