The Uncomfortable Truth

The Uncomfortable Truth

By Rochus Sison

Deaths due to driving accidents is a widespread epidemic that does not garner the same attention as more explicit tragedies yet, nonetheless, is a horrifying reality that has pervaded everyday living. We have become numb to the reality that deaths by cars happen daily, integrating these tragedies into our normal routine, equating an accident on the freeway to getting a cup of coffee on the way to work. We tend to forget that the cars we drive have such potential for destruction. It is understandably easy to become comfortable with driving, nestling into a car like a familiar friend, but when that friend becomes a ton of metal barreling into another, we become frightfully aware that our cars are not toys but vehicles that demand responsibility, safety, and education. I was awakened to this raw reality when I heard of a mother who had died on a run because a driver failed to look at the street ahead. It makes me think – I could have been in that situation earlier when I decided to look at my phone while driving. Comfort becomes recklessness when we are not aware of the consequences of our own actions. In order to safeguard from destruction, thorough drivers ed is paramount. We must expose ourselves to the uncomfortable truth of the danger cars can possess, so when we do choose to drive, we practice an extra level of caution and care. This type of habit building must begin when we are young. Parents are responsible for exemplifying safe driving habits. Driving instructors have a duty to teach not only how to drive a car but how to do so without harming others. Friends must rely on each other to follow the checklist of safe habits. Especially in a time where technology grapples for our attention, we have to take extra care to put our phones away and focus on the road ahead. Safety begins with us. We are responsible for our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others. When we enter our car in the morning to get a cup of coffee on our way to work, we have to be conscious of our actions so we do not become the daily accident on the freeway, the tragic death that could have been prevented.