Staying Focused on the Things ahead

Staying Focused on the Things Ahead In 2007, a Law was passed in Georgia that increased the education needed to receive a driver’s license at 16. This law was called “Joshua’s law” and it was thought up in the wake of a teen named Joshua Brown who had died in a car accident years before. Driver education is essential to being a safe and alert driver, which can keep people on roads and out of hospitals. Driver Education courses teach valuable information that can save lives, and help people stay out of dangerous situations. In many cases it has been proven that taking an education course can reduce the number of accidents that take place in ages 16-21. Being in a car accident does not sound as real and common until you are in one yourself, or two. I was in the passenger seat of my best friend's car on the way home from Wednesday night church, while joking and singing loudly to our playlist. My friend became distracted and ran a red light at a busy intersection. She quickly saw what she had done and slammed on the breaks which saved us from hitting another car in their driver side door, we however were not left unscathed. My friend had ran into the back corner of the other car and spun onto the sidewalk, she was already panicking when we had come to a stop. We were very lucky to both be safe and unharmed and the same for the other car’s driver. Looking back, I can see that the decisions made by both me and my friend to be normal teenagers and paying more attention to the music than the road, could have been deadly if we had been just a foot or two in front of where we were. Today, where phones run almost everyone’s lifestyles, it’s easy to want to quickly check your social media because you're “at a stop light” or there's “ no one around you” but putting your device away for your 15 minute trip is even easier. In the United States alone, phones are involved in 1.6 million car wrecks. If we as a collective whole, pay more attention to the road ahead of us and the cars around us and less to the devices in our cars, then the roads as a whole will be a safer environment. Because that Facebook notification will still be there when you get to your destination, and so will you if you drive safely and hands free.