Think
of Others First


As
an international student, I fly in and out of the country quite
often. Sometimes, when the plane hits turbulence and it feels like we
hit a speedbump on the sky, I look out the little plane window and I
think -- how is it that even now, 10,000 meters high, I’m still
more scared of driving than I’ll ever be of a plane ride?


Although
I have never been involved in a car accident, I’ve had clone enough
experiences to know how easy it can happen. A few seconds looking
down at his phone -- that’s what it took for a man to miss the stop
light and almost hit me as I was crossing the street. From time to
time, I hear cars going 100 miles per hour on my residential street,
and I worry for my neighbors. And, while I might have escaped a few
times, I have heard many less fortunate cases from friends, peers, or
just by tuning into local news for five minutes. It is truly
terrifying to hear how many lives we lose to imprudent driving.


As
it seems, having rules is not enough for people to drive safely, and
neither is harsh punishment. The problem of irresponsible driving
roots from a lack of empathy. The people who drunk drive, drag race,
or take on any inconsequential practices undervalue other human
lives.


That
being said, a possible solution to the issue actually begins a lot
earlier than when one even thinks of getting their license. A lot of
primary and secondary education institutions already have programs
geared towards road safety. To add to them, it would be interesting
to bring in families who have suffered in the hands of imprudent
drivers. By sharing their stories, they can hopefully sensitize
children and teens to always be serious and responsible behind the
wheel. One quote, associated with Stalin, says that “one death is a
tragedy, but millions of deaths are just statistics”. A lot of
times, numbers are too impersonal to alert drivers of the severity of
the issue at hand. If themselves or nobody in their close circle have
never been through an accident, they might believe it would never
happen to them. Hearing from those who have had those experiences
might humanize these statistics, and make future drivers aware of
what is really on their hands when they are driving.


Even
though I am not a driver yet, I will live by what I said when I do
become one. Even when I’m in the passenger seat, I always try to
speak up when I see something out of the norm. All in all, safe
driving comes down to following the rules not because they are there
or because someone is watching, but because they stand for human
life.