Nostalgic
About the Old Driving Days
I
grew up watching my father, an eccentric car enthusiast, tinker with
car parts in his free time. At the age of 8 years old my bedtime
stories consisted of variations of the comical phrase, "anyone
can be a mechanic but not everybody can really know
and
drive
a car Chelsey". My friends thought he was as mad as a hatter
during sleepovers at my house to say the least. I did learn a few
things because of my dad's passion as I got older though. He taught
me everything I truly needed to know about being safe behind the
wheels.

Even
though I had the best driver in the world (that's what little girls
think) my father still encouraged me to take the mandatory driving
tests from the instructors. He knew that I could learn something new
from other people. Knowledge is the greatest power after all- highly
encouraged by him to seek out. I think the reason for his intense
command towards drivers ed was because of the millions of
people that die yearly from traffic accidents all around the world.
In fact 313,000 people died from January to March of this year alone
(www.worldometers.info). So, I can understand why he would want his
daughter to know the do's and the don'ts. Being a responsible driver
who follows all
the
precautions and rules really goes a long way in preserving the lives
of others and protecting yourself as a driver.

My
friends in sixth form had the habit of drinking and driving at night.
I went along with this once or twice because I didn't want to be
dubbed as the boring girl but after awhile I realized that I was
doing the opposite of what my father taught me growing up. I stopped
hanging out and people got mad. Three months later my Psych 101 buddy
got into an accident with some cheerleaders. His recovery was awful.
I felt
responsible
in a way. I remember thinking, "I could have done more to get
it through their thick skulls". But I didn't and tragedy struck.
I never made that mistake again.
In
general, I know that simply increasing the severity of punishments
of drinking and driving could reduce the number of deaths greatly.
Young people would think twice to commit this crime if they knew a
serious penalty would follow. Poor roadway lighting is another factor
that is an issue as it relates to traffic accidents. Advocating for
our own government bodies to address this concern would make a huge
difference.
As
a driver who has poor eyesight I try even harder to keep my head on
straight. Sometimes I even find myself driving for other people on
the road. Being mindful of the split second decisions that I have to
make can sometimes be the balance between life or death. Taking my
time keeps me and every other driver in my vicinity safe.