There was a day, about seven months ago that I will never forget. I was on the phone talking to my friend Mia. Our families have always been good friends and that day she was on the way to my house. She had called because she usually got lost on her way there, she was a fairly new driver. Mia had always been good at driving. She obeyed all speed limits and traffic laws and got a perfect on her maneuverability test. (I had to retake it twice!) We were so excited because this was only her third time driving alone anywhere farther than 5 minutes. As I was giving her directions on where to turn, it happened. A scream. A scream so loud and piercing I thought it was from my side of the connection. I always wished after that day that it had been my side. No. It was Mia. Her car had been hit by a truck. It crushed her small red fusion and she died that night. The man driving the truck felt awful. He told us all repeatedly. It turns out he didn't see the stop sign because he had been replying to a text. That he didn't even see her. Such a small mistake that resulted in a different world for everyone that had loved Mia.
After that I made sure that every time I drove anywhere, even if it was only down the road, that I would drive like she did. That I would stop at stop signs and not rush in order to pass under a yellow light. I drove like that for about two months before I realized that the way I drive, that the way Mia drove, wasn’t the reason for her death. I understood that, yes, it’s great to follow the laws and drive the speed limit but Mia did all those things and still died. No, what she didn’t do was drive defensively. You can drive as perfectly as Jesus would have if he were here and it wouldn’t make a difference. Anyone who drives or is learning to drive needs to be told repeatedly to keep your eyes open. They need to be told to please, oh God please, put their cellphones away. I get it. I’m 17 and sometimes when you hear that notification you're tempted. But is it worth someone losing their life just to see a message from team snapchat? I sure don’t, not anymore.
I’m just one kid. I can’t get the message out to everybody. However there are driving instructors who can. So if someone asked me what I would add to their classes, it would be this. Driving is not a right, it can be taken away. Not everyone does it. It may even have more downs than ups. Driving is not a right but living is. I would tell them that it’s not worth it to drive recklessly or perfectly if you're not driving defensively. That's my message. Mia’s Story