A Senseless and Tragic Loss

A Senseless and Tragic Loss

By: Lauren Engel

On October 9^th, 2020, I lost my dear aunt in a senseless and tragic traffic accident. She was out walking her dogs and was hit by a vehicle that did not see her even though she was wearing a safety vest and a carrying a light around her neck. The accident report has not been released yet, but my family believes that the driver must have been distracted to not have seen my aunt in time. This incident has made me realize how important it is to eliminate all distractions while driving. Driver’s education is an important part of learning for teens on how to be a safe driver. However, many accidents occur with adults who have driven for many years. The person who hit my aunt was in his 50’s, many years from his time as a teen in driver’s education. Driver’s education as a teen is not enough to prevent tragic car accidents and deaths. Continuing education with adults is needed to remind everyone how distracted drivers are lethal.

I think the steps that need to be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is to find a way to minimize the distractions while driving. Cell phones have become the biggest distraction in recent years. When I drive, I constantly see other drivers with their cell phones in their hands and their eyes off the roads. As a society, we need to come up with a way to stop cell phone use while driving. Many states have instituted penalties to driver’s who are caught using a cell phone while driving, but I wonder how many people are really caught and charged with this offense. It is still unknown if my aunt’s killer was distracted because of using a cell phone, but the police are reviewing his cell phone records around the time of the accident to try to determine that may have been the cause.

Luckily, I have not been in a car accident, but I have witnessed friends driving irresponsibly. Before my aunt’s death, I probably would not have said anything to them about it. However, after experiencing my aunt’s tragic and senseless death, I will definitely speak up if I witness anyone driving irresponsibly. My aunt’s death has made me realize how much responsibility I have while driving a car and it has definitely made me into a more careful driver.

The steps I have taken to become a better and safer driver are to put my phone on silent before I get behind the wheel and not look at it until I reach my destination, I am extra alert driving in neighborhoods, and I make sure I drive at the stated speed limit. I am so saddened that my aunt was killed by a careless driver, but it has made me realize how quickly things can happen when you are behind the wheel and how important it is to always be alert and watchful of the surroundings when driving a car. From now on, I will make sure to voice my concerns when I am in the car with other drivers who are not driving safely and tell them the story of what happened to my aunt because of a careless driver.

A person’s life can be changed in an instant because of careless driving. For my aunt, her life ended tragically because of a careless driver. For the careless driver, his life is forever changed by making the biggest mistake of his life and killing an innocent victim due to be not paying attention while behind the wheel. If any good comes out of this tragedy, I hope that I can share this story with others to prevent even one more senseless death because of distracted driving.