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Realize

Name: Avery Morgan Barnes
From: Athens, Ohio
Votes: 0

You
are in the passenger seat of the car. A stranger is driving. You look
back and see that everyone you love is in the back seat; no seat
belts are being worn. You try to yell at them to buckle up but they
can’t hear you. You look over to your left, the driver has been
drinking, doing drugs, texting, and isn’t wearing their seatbelt
either. You watch as the “simple” act of speeding causes a t-bone
collision and everyone you love is thrown out of the car. You’re
sitting there, locked into your seatbelt, unable to attend to the
bleeding bodies surrounding the crash. You close your weeping eyes,
thinking of everything that could of been avoided, everything you
could of done, every life you just lost. When you open your eyes,
your back to the beginning, but this time to you take the wheel, you
demand that everyone puts their seatbelt on, you put your phone in
your pocket, and you do not dare to speed. By mentally putting
yourself in the shoes of someone who has lost everything due to a car
crash, you’ve educated yourself on the importance of driving
safely. You come to the conclusion that in order for others to have
the same realization, there are essential steps that need to be
taken.

First,
people need to realize the liability they have when on the road. By
understanding your responsibility as a driver, you are more likely to
take the people around you into consideration when you get behind the
wheel. The next step that needs to be taken is to look into setting
speed controls on cars. If we are able to program a speed map in cars
where your car cannot exceed 5 mph over the limit in that area, we
could drastically cut down on accidents and therefore save lives.
Unfortunately, I believe that until someone experiences a close to,
or actual car accident the repercussions will not register in most
peoples brains. For that reason, would it be beneficial to create a
virtual stimulation where drivers are put into a car crash to allow
their brains to comprehend and realize the damage that could be done
in a blink of an eye? Until we get a grip and highlight the
importance of this pressing issue, lives will continue to be lost.
Together, and only together, can we build a better, safer today in
hopes for a better, safer tomorrow.