Not Just An Ordinary Day
Driver Education Initiative
Nya Foster
Atlanta, GA
Nya Foster
Charles R Drew Charter School
11th Grade
November 29, 2019
“Not Just An Ordinary Day”
It seemed like an ordinary Sunday in July. On Sundays, she and her husband of 40 years routinely attended the 8am worship service at their church. This Sunday was no different. It seemed like an ordinary Sunday; after church, she and her husband went to breakfast with two other couples. On her way home from breakfast, she received a call from her daughter. Her granddaughter had just turned two and her daughter promised to send pictures from the party. This was the last time she ever spoke to her daughter. You see, later that afternoon, a speeding car ran a stop sign and crashed into the driver’s side door of her car. She was killed.
This woman was my grandmother and she never saw the pictures from my birthday party and I never got the chance to truly get to know her. Her life was abruptly ended by a careless driver on that Sunday afternoon in July.
I’m very passionate about safe driving because I know too well that it can be a life or death situation anytime a person gets behind the wheel. Over a million people die a year from car accidents. These fatalities can often be attributed to distracted drivers. Distracted drivers are those who are engaged in other activities that take their attention away from the road. This can include driving under the influence, too many passengers in a car, and using electronics while driving; even the radio can be a distraction while driving. Roughly, nine people are killed and more than a thousand are injured daily in accidents in which at least one driver is distracted. Speeding contributes to one-third of all traffic fatalities. In 2017, it was reported that speeding was the cause of death for more than nine thousand people. Drunk driving crashes accounted for 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the U.S and of that 28%, 17% of those deaths were of children under the age of 14. These are not just statistics. These are actual lives that are lost and this loss leaves behind grieving families just like mine.
Drivers ed Programs teach new drivers the basic skills needed to operate a vehicle safely in various situations and weather conditions. The formal training focuses on helping drivers understand the importance of maintaining focus on the road, knowing and obeying traffic laws and signage, and the serious consequences associated with driving at high rates of speed or driving while intoxicated. Young, inexperienced drivers are the most susceptible to accidents so this training and practice are essential to operating a vehicle safely.
While these trainings are important, there is no substitute for good judgement. Each of us should consider the lives that may be impacted by our action every time we get behind the wheel of a car. We have an obligation to ourselves, our passengers, and other drivers to know and obey the traffic laws and to be alert and careful anytime we are behind the wheel of a car.
Work Cited
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries
Content Disclaimer:
Essays are contributed by users and represent their individual perspectives, not those of this website.
