Walking is like driving but less harmful.

The school bell rings in one minute, some are rushing to their class on the other side of the school, some are speed walking to avoid getting yelled at for running in the hallway. I chose to speedwalk to avoid getting in trouble for running and for being late to class. As I was making my way to my algebra class which was on the other side of the school, I saw a figure come dashing down the hallway in my direction, and in a split second, me and that person ended up on the ground. 

Walking in the hallway at school feels like driving but less harmful. If you don’t know when to stop or watch where you are going, it can lead to a slight bump in the shoulder or falling onto each other if one’s acceleration were too fast. A phrase some might use is “crashing into each other”. 

And that is what happened to me. They ran at me at full speed without watching where they were going and crashed into me. I was lucky to not be injured or hurt in any way, I was able to stand up normally.

But what if we were in two different vehicles driving on the street? And their vehicle started accelerating fast toward me. We would “crash into each other”, and would definitely not be stable after. One of us or both of us would be injured, if not, we would’ve been standing there looking at our wrecked car. 

Not only is this harmful, but the damaged car would cost us a huge extra amount into our insurance. This is why it is not recommended and should not attempt to break any road driving rules, but of course, it possible.

It is unbelievable that an average of 34,000 Americans lose their lives every year in America for easily avoidable behaviors. This amount is insanely more than the amount of American soldiers who died from War in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. 

The amount of people who lose their loved ones because of a car is ridiculous. Because of drivers who wouldn’t take their time to learn driver education. Drivers who wouldn’t obey the rules. Drivers who seem to can’t control themself and the dangerous motor they’re responsible for.

Most of the time, car accidents occur because of drivers who lack the ability and experience in driving. Common causes are from distracted driving, sometimes from reckless driving, but sometimes it could happen out of nowhere, like a car malfunctioning in the middle of the road. 

But the only unavoidable situation is a car malfunctioning while driving. This could happen out of nowhere. But every other reason I mentioned is ABSOLUTELY AVOIDABLE.

Distracted driving has become the most common reason for car accidents. The most distracting reasons include our phone, the screen loses the driver's mind from focusing on driving, on controlling the wheels, and watching where they’re headed. This also includes eating while driving,talking with a backseat rider, blaring music, and more.This happens even while we are walking. Our screen distracts us so much, we lose focus on where we’re walking.

Another common cause is from speeding. You would be surprised at how many people speed daily. Nobody wants to be late for work, nobody wants to be late for their next class, nobody wants to be late for something significant. 

Many are afraid of being late because it's either disrespectful, unprofessional, or just from embarrassment . But this anxiety results in them dismissing their surroundings and stepping hard into the pedal. Making them go 70 in a 30, or even a 100 in a 40, any speed that is beyond the speed limits.This behavior surely does not help drivers in any way but causes problems for them and the people around them. The lesser time to react, difficulties to stop the motor in time causes life-threatening accidents. 

Reflecting back to my experience when I was “crashed” into while walking in the hallway, was it safe at all? No, it wasn’t safe at all because I could have been terribly injured but I was lucky to not. My experience is an example of this selfish behavior of speeding. Speeding may help drivers get somewhere while in a rush but the people around them could be affected if they can’t control the vehicle stably. Drivers who tend to speed need to understand the absurd outcome they would cause, affecting not only them but also other people. 

Speeding can happen if the driver is a reckless driver too. Reckless driving is basically the definition of driver lacking the driving etiquette. Reckless drivers drive like a rebellious. Not obeying the driving law, being aggressive on the road, disturbing other drivers' peace because they think they can get away with it. 

Reckless drivers are like a drunk person walking in the street and start getting aggressive with people around them.Drivers who act recklessly while driving have a high chance of facing jail. 

Cars are wonderful inventions and are needed for many countries, but we need to be aware and careful of them if we want to keep this wonderful invention. One wrong act of pressing too hard on the pedals can lead you fleeing faster than the speed of lights—okay maybe not. But when the vehicle accelerates too wild, we lose control on that wheel and result in hurting ourselves. 

Understanding driver education is so crucial but there are drivers who tend to avoid grasping it. Driving behavior that needs to be stopped for the sake of every living human on earth. Many innocent citizens lose their life because of it, they can’t take the next step of their life because they are forced to stop due to driving or drivers who shouldn’t be allowed to control a vehicle.  

So the message I want to give out is, please be mindful of the responsibility before you put your foot on the pedal. Take the initiative to understand the road sign and simple driving rules, obey the speed limits, limit yourself to driving when not stable, and focus on what's ahead of you.