The Weight of the Wheel

My sweaty hands gripped the steering wheel of my dad’s 1999 Toyota Camry. Nervously I looked side to side out of the windows, up towards the rearview mirror, and most importantly, in front of me at the road that I slowly rolled over. My first time driving was with my dad in an empty parking lot, which is a universal memory for fresh drivers. Not only had getting behind the driver seat for the first time been a milestone of teenage development, it was also my sharpest reminder of the responsibility and maturity I now held. I now held the independence of being able to drive places; being in charge of my own curfews and being on time; helping out my sibling with rides; but most importantly, I had the responsibility of others’ lives while sharing the road.

Being a responsible driver for me means being in constant acknowledgement of the fact that these thousand-pound vehicles have the potential to bring great comfort, but also immense destruction. This acknowledgement is not to scare off new and unfamiliar drivers, but to instead encourage them to take pride in the new skill and do it in the most honorable fashion; safely.  Some of my fondest memories involve being in the car with my parents. I remember sleepily resting in my car seat, watching the trees and powerlines pass us by, or watching the raindrops slide across the window, silently hoping one can out-race the other. With these memories it can be easy to forget about the ever-present risks that come with getting inside the car, and the essential attitude of being cautious and responsible. 

Being an educated and knowledgeable driver can enable more people to understand the reasoning behind the rules of the road, and ultimately be more inclined to follow them. Simply enforcing a rule is not enough to make the majority of the population embrace or accommodate for that rule. There must also be a real and grounded understanding as to why these rules exist. The more that people follow speed limits, stop signs, and proper use of turn signals allows the road to be a safer place for both drivers, pedestrians, and passengers. Not only will educating people lead to more responsible drivers, it will also evoke a higher level of empathy for fellow motorists. It can be easy to forget that those we share the road with can be elderly, anxious new drivers just starting to learn the new skill, or those using a brand new car for the first time. Safe driving enables a more secure world for all to live in and understand, especially because around 78% of Americans rely on their cars to commute to work. By applying the humanity and logic behind road regulation, more lives will be saved and damages prevented.

With teenagers such as myself being prone to peer pressure and influences to seem “cool”, the temptation to drive recklessly and swerve can lead people astray. These actions can lead to incredibly preventable and tragic accidents, and potentially life ending resolutions. Feeling invincible during the nighttime hours is a core contributor to careless driving, which is tenfold more dangerous because in the night pedestrians are significantly harder to see, and the road may curve or warp in ways that the driver may not anticipate. Choosing to chase fleeting thrills and social approval compromises the security and trust that people have on their roads. 

Distracted driving also provides an incredibly tragic yet even more preventable problem that impacts those on and off the road. The urge to just quickly check a text, edit a music playlist, or get one quick scroll in can feel automatic and insignificant, but the consequences are anything but. My own family had been faced with the consequences of these urges. While driving to pick up a family member, my brother was hit by a distracted driver, and as a result the car that we shared together had the front right corner severely damaged. Even more alarming was that the car who hit my brother had gotten flipped over in the collision. By a grace of luck the man driving was not injured and was able to climb out of his car, however in any other situation he may not have been so fortunate. That is why I believe so heavily in the importance of intrinsically motivating drivers to drive cautiously and responsibly, because the thought that death was so close serves as a reminder that rules and regulations are there for our own good. For my family and myself, that terrifying moment had changed the way we see driving. Following the laws and practicing cautious driving was quickly written into my habits every time I got behind the wheel. 

Safe driving takes more than just police presence or photo enforcement: it must be guided by people intrinsically wanting to do better and be safer. Drivers must remind themselves of the power that they hold every time they get into a car, and want to cultivate a mature environment for everyone on the roads. Despite my own hands no longer being shaky and sweaty as they hold my steering wheel, I still take great care and attention every time I drive. And with more driver education, I hope many more will too.