“Our hearts are with the Oakton High School Community tonight.”
Everyone’s Instagram story is a repost of this memorial post. I stare at the stark, bold white lettering in confusion. What happened?
Closing out of my Instagram app, I opened Google and searched for my high school. My heart stopped as I found myself reading an article posted 5 hours ago about a car crash.
“2 dead, 1 in the hospital.”
My eyes widened in disbelief. It wasn’t until I read the article not once, not twice, but three times that the horrifying reality dawned on me. A senior at my school was driving 81 mph on a 35 mph road, causing him to lose control at the intersection between Blake Lane and Five Oaks Lane, where he hit three sophomores walking.
As I recognized the familiar intersection where the accident had happened, a feeling of dread gripped my heart. The road that has witnessed my laughter and tears as I drive with my friends to get food after school is the same road where three of my classmates faced the consequences of a reckless driver.
The next day at school, a deep air of grief filled the halls, along with soft voices about the accident. The tragedy left a deep mark on our community, a reminder of the dangers posed by our growing responsibilities and the fragility of human life. Although every student has differences, we all unite to extend our condolences to the victims’ families.
Once the last bell rang, I visited the memorial of the car crash. The sidewalk was lined with bouquets of flowers and notes of love and remembrance for the victims. As I knelt down to place my flowers amidst the others, I felt a tear escape my eyes, followed by many more.
Enveloped by the feeling of grief, I reflected on my personal driving experience. While I’ve had my driver's license for almost a year, I know I am not the perfect driver. Occasionally, I would do a rolling stop at a stop sign or drive over the speed limit. But on this day, I vowed to be more careful.
In the days that followed, I fully grasped the immense driving responsibilities. Ever since I could remember, the prospect of turning 16 and getting your driver's license was alluring, marking a monumental moment of freedom in any teenager’s life. There’s no denying that driving isn’t exciting. The ability to just go out whenever you want to hang out with friends or the independence to not rely on your parents to take you to school grants people personal fulfillment. Although, I believe most people underestimate the dangers of driving. This event was a wake-up call to the community that driving is not just a privilege but a responsibility.
Driver education is one of the key solutions to preventing reckless driving in young adults. However, the senior who caused the car crash undoubtedly took the driver's ed class, so why was he still driving more than 2 times the speed limit? Determining the exact reason for his actions is impossible, but I know the class isn’t flawless. As I recall my sophomore year when I took the driver’s ed class, I remember looking around to see everyone on their phones and playing games on their computer while the teacher lectured. The class’s primary purpose was to instill a sense of responsibility in the students, but the students were not engaged.
To fix this, if teachers made the class more interactive, students would be more eager to learn about driver education. By incorporating more activities such as Kahoot games or using drunk goggles to learn about drunk driving, students will better retain the lesson. Driver’s education teachers can also use more activities that will allow students to connect on a deeper, more personal level. Allowing students to connect personally through reflection will make them more inclined to internalize the importance of safe driving practices. Discussions of personal experiences and hypothetical scenarios will encourage students to commit to safe driving.
Although driver education is one of the many solutions to combat tragic events such as the Oakton car crash, other measures can be implemented. Some of the improvements in the area were raising the speeding fines and adding “no speeding” signs, but these efforts shouldn’t stop there. I believe adding more red light cameras and speeding cameras would be more effective. Considering the students that were hit, we can also build more infrastructure, such as fences, to protect pedestrians.
As I reach the adult age of 18, I feel a growing desire to advocate for safer roads. I strive to exercise my civil duty to research and vote for campaigns that support safe driving. Now that I have realized the unfortunate consequences of reckless driving, I am more aware of how I drive. I limit all distractions by putting my phone away, and I always know the speed limit. Even when not driving, I am not afraid to speak up about what the person driving me can do better.
Additionally, I am taking proactive measures to improve our community roads. As the Chief of Operations officer of the Oakton High School Impact Through Action Club, I am currently working with the other officers to host an event where members will create posters to encourage safe driving practices. These posters will include colorful and engaging messages with tips on how students can be a responsible driver. I plan for the posters to be hung up around the school, such as the hallways and classrooms, and near the roads around the school.
On June 7th, 2023, the world lost two precious lives to the dangers of driving. To this day, the victims of the car crash rest in my heart. Their memory serves as a reminder of the importance of enforcing safe driving, and they will never be forgotten. #WeAreOakton.