Drive with Intentions to Survive

Driver’s education should be a requirement to graduate high school to help reduce the number of deaths from reckless driving. Adolescent brains are not fully developed when they start to drive; with the social pressure to be “cool” and the crave of adrenaline, reckless driving is often done knowingly. These students need exposure to the truth; if you decide to participate in this risky behavior there will be consequences. Having it required at schools furthermore provides the student to hear the dangers from higher figures that are not their parents. This may influence the students to apply reckless driving in a mental category of situations to avoid due to its danger risk. I almost joined the accident fatality statistics this year and now view life with utmost delicacy.

Aside from reckless driving, steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is applying defensive driving as muscle memory. An example of this would be if your light turns green, you should never assume that everyone will obey their red light. Observing the intersection and the speed of cars as they are coming to a stop is important when you first are given the green light to proceed. This is more in depth than the few second rule before proceeding. Simply never trust or assume other drivers’ next move. The more this is practiced, the more accidents and fatalities can be prevented.

Another big step that society can adjust to help the number of accident related deaths is the social pressure of young 16-year-old teenagers to get their permit and their license. Parents and guardians should use their best judgment when deciding the right time to allow their children to start driving. Personally, I was not comfortable driving until I turned 18 because I did not feel confident, comfortable, nor mature enough to safely get from one location to another. The main idea proposed is that each child matures differently and at their own rate. Some may not be ready to have the responsibility of the safety of their own life or others. This social construct that everyone should drive young and as soon as legally allowed is simply irresponsible and should be broken. Driving is a privilege, after all.

Enforcing seat belts is a constant conversation, but there are actions manufacturers can implement to ensure standard safety measures are met. Standard personal vehicles should not be able to start motion if a seat occupied with a person has a belt not being used. Cars will beep at a constant rate when it detects a person in a seat without a seatbelt fastened, however, there are no further restrictions. Again, avoiding seatbelts is also a common young driver mistake as it becomes a fad to go against the rules. Driver’s education as a requirement to graduate high school will engrain safety measures and reverse the idea that driving without a seatbelt is not dangerous nor life-threatening. At this time, every two years students get exposed to the program called “Every Fifteen Minutes” where they view a mimicked car accident scene and the heartbreaking reality of the victims and their families. This may be an eye opener, but does not teach ways to prevent an accident or use safety precautions while driving. Thus, the class should be a requirement for driver safety information and operation.

The rainy night of February 19, 2024, I was turning left at a green light in my small, blue Prius when a Nissan truck ran a red light hitting me head-on at 55mph. The impact spun my car around and he drove away. After getting medical attention, they discovered I had three broken ribs, a left shoulder type 2 separation, whiplash, and a concussion. I immediately dropped out of college, canceled my professional dancing contract for ballet, and fell into a life full of unknowns.

As I finished physical therapy, I noticed everything was healing at a decent pace except my brain injury due to my increase in stuttering. I was referred to a traumatic brain injury doctor where they ordered the MRI that saved my life. Within 24 hours I got a call saying that I had an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) growing in my brain, life-threatening with a 86% chance of hemorrhaging. On October 23, 2024 I underwent Gamma Knife Radiation Surgery where they drilled four metal pins to my skull bone and received three hours of treatment. This car accident did save my life, but also changed everything I had going for me educational wise and my career in professional dancing.

After my experience, distracting driving has become my deal breaker when I step foot into a car. What many fail to understand is the minute you step foot into a car as a passenger, you give the driver your life. If one believes for a second the driver is putting them at risk, they should speak up. Often, many fail to do so as they fear negative feedback in their social circle. When I speak up, I often am told it is my PTSD from my car accident. However, reality is that I understand how fragile life is. Another common mistake that needs to be fixed; knowingly getting into a vehicle with an unsafe driver.

Even with the new self-driving vehicles and other advancements in technology, accidents are prone to happen. It is up to an individual to go the extra mile and adhere to all safety measures to ensure that if an accident were to occur, you would survive. Even though the seat belt had injured my shoulder upon impact, it saved my life. I cannot imagine what life would be like now if I decided to not wear one. Life itself is valuable and the more we educate our youth, the fatality statistic charts will decrease. Fatalities due to irresponsible decisions, especially when they were not yours, are unfair and greatly preventable with required education.

Thank you for reading my story and your consideration in helping me get back into my education.