In the Driver’s Seat

Destiny Weislogel

Driver Education Initiative Award:

Annual Scholarship Opportunity

17 November 2020

In the Driver’s Seat

We don’t all receive our driver’s licenses and say, “today, I am going to be a bad driver!” We obtain our license, typically at a young and naïve age, with every intention of being the best driver on the road. Unfortunately, life gets the best of us sometimes, distractions happen, and being human, we sometimes make poor decisions. In October of 2016, I made the worst decision of my life and learned a hard lesson about driving responsibly.

By the sweet age of 21 I had taken every driver’s education course you could think of; for personal gain of lowering my insurance of course. My dad taught me the ropes and always made sure to tell me to double check my mirrors. I had a good foundation about being responsible and being self-aware. I literally have the saying, “click it or ticket,” engrained so deep into my brain. However, one night, my girlfriend and I decided to go out bar hopping and reason went out the window, almost as fast as my responsibility characteristic. We had the tunes blaring on the way home, driving down an unfamiliar backroad in the middle of the night when we hit a deer. We lucked out and he barely took out my headlight. Being young and optimistic we figured, “onward!”

About 30 minutes later I was reaching for a lighter on the floorboard of my passenger side, dismissing my unconsciously intoxicated friend, when we hit a guard rail going 80 miles per hour on the opposite side of the road. My chevy impala hit the guard rail so hard that it flew around and hit the back right side and we were lucky enough not to flip down the hill. My air bags exploded and all I could think about was getting my best friend of 20 years to safety. I dragged her out of the vehicle, and we sat on the side of the road watching the smoke billow out of my car. In as little as what seemed like 5 seconds, we were watching the entire fire department and local policeman surround my vehicle from the nearby neighbor’s driveway. For the first time in my entire life, the officer was staring at me with disappointment as he handcuffed me and put me in the back of vehicle.

I was lucky enough not to kill myself, but more importantly my best friend or anyone else on the road that evening. I thought I had been through driver’s education, but I had no idea about the amount of education I was about to receive. Little did I realize that this evening would change my perspective on driving for the rest of my life. I took a 7-week course at the local community college about drinking and driving. But what taught me the most, was the 2-hour long DWI Impact Panel I sat through. For 2 hours, I listened to the statistics, the research backing up how many times this happens and doesn’t end well; more importantly, I listened to the story and heard the cries of a mother of two who lost both of her children to a drunk driver.

Driver education is so important, especially for our youth. I am not talking about your typical, “double check your mirrors, wear your seatbelt,” run of the mill kind of education. I am talking about listening to the testimonials of those people who lose their loved ones to the irresponsible drivers on the road. It’s not always directly related to drinking and driving, just someone not paying attention, because the reality is that this happens so much more often than people think or realize.

Educating people about safe driving and making an impact that sticks with them for longer than the amount of time you’re sitting next to them in the vehicle, is the goal we should be striving for. Sharing our stories of when we mess up and how we are vowing to move forward with change, that is what holds us accountable for our actions. Safe driving is so important, not just for you, but for that mom of 3, that brother who is the primary caregiver for his sister, that grandma on her way to church with her husband, and that dad coming home from work late so he can pay the power bill.