Learn How to Drive if You Want to Survive

One
moment was bliss, the next was terror. January 4th, 2012 may have
been an ordinary day for most but for my family it was the day we
lost my cousin. She was 19 and in Florida for college going to a tea
shop with her friend. Her friend ran a red light because she took her
eyes off the road for one second. A truck smashed into my cousins
side of the vehicle to where there was no passenger side anymore.
They tried to fly my cousin to a hospital but she died before making
it there.

Driver
education is one of the most important and practical things to learn
as a teenager or adult. Once you get into the driver’s seat, you
become responsible for many more lives than just your own. A lot of
people do not take driving education seriously which is why so many
people die each year from auto accidents. Whether it’s because they
fell asleep at the wheel, ran a red light, are speeding, drunk
driving, or drifting for fun doesn’t matter because these things
won’t happen with a proper education of how to drive. When we
decide to drive tired or drunk, to speed or drift or to run a red
light, we put not only ourselves at risk but those in our car and
others on the road as well. During a drivers ed course, we
learn all the risks of driving unsafe and how it impacts not only our
lives but others’ lives too. Not taking a drivers ed course
is dangerous and when not taken seriously, people get hurt. Some
physically, others emotionally.

In
highschool, my teacher decided to take us to an event that walked us
through an auto-accident because of distracted driving. They showed
pictures of people after being in an accident. They showed us how
families reacted. They showed us how it impacted everyone’s life
and I can confidently say everyone in that room had no words because
right there, in that room, everyone was thinking about their own
life. They were thinking about how devastated the people they were
close to would be if the person on the screen was them. More students
should have to go through this because it will save lives. Being in
the reality of what a car accident does to a family will help
teenagers make better, safer decisions.

Make
a decision now to not take risks while driving. Do not become a part
of the next statistic of how many deaths there were this year. Do not
make someone else a part of that statistic because of a choice you
made. My cousin is now a part of statistics from 2012 and will always
be. Spread the word to friends and hold those you know accountable to
not being a distracted driver. Do not let your moment of bliss turn
into terror.