What If?

I remember the day my mom explained to me why I only had one grandpa instead of two. She told me that when she was only 9 years old, her dad had died in a car accident. On an icy winter day, my grandpa, John Scott, set out to work in his Volkswagon Bug. While driving on a two-lane highway, a semi-truck hit a patch of ice and rammed into his car. My grandpa’s car was thrown into a barrier and he was entrapped by his seatbelt. Paramedics were unable to remove him from the car, and as a result he passed away when the car caught fire. My grandpa, a World War II veteran, could not survive a car crash. Unsafe driving is what led to my mother and her seven siblings growing up without a father and to me never being able to meet my grandpa. That day, I made a vow to myself that when I was able to drive, I would always do so safely to protect my life and to prevent my family members from suffering the loss of a loved one.

I believe that drivers ed is one of the most important processes in a person’s life. The number of lives lost each day to driving would dramatically increase if not for this crucial step in a typical teenager’s life. However, as people age they tend to be more cocky in their driving abilities. If more people were aware of how unsafe driving can be, they would be far more careful when stepping behind the wheel. If my grandfather and the semi-truck driver had considered the conditions of the road and questioned their own ability to drive in such weather, my grandfather could still be here today. It is my hope that in the future, more steps will be taken to continue to educate Americans even after their teenage years through mandatory re-tests and driver-safety courses. Though I’m sure drivers would view these steps as a hassle, it is a small price to pay in comparison to one’s life.

As a teenager, I understand the temptation to drive recklessly. Going fast and taking sharp turns thrills us, like our own roller coaster. But I know what is and is not safe while driving, and though these actions may be fun, I always restrain myself because of the “what if.” What if there is black ice on the road and my tires slide? What if I didn't make the turn and I swerved into the other lane? What if I looked at my phone and crashed the car because I wasn’t paying attention? These questions are what motivate me to be a safe driver, because the “what ifs” aren’t small possibilities, they are large probabilities. It is my hope that someday, everyone will begin to ask themselves “what if?” before they turn their key in the ignition and as a result, far fewer lives will be lost as a result of reckless driving.