Difference Between Life and Death, Seconds

Nowadays almost all teens want to drive, yet very few of them understand the responsibility that comes with being behind a wheel. Young people think that is cool to drink and drive, excessively speed, and drive recklessly for no apparent reason. The problem with these actions is that they are not alone while driving on a road and any damage caused affects other people. Even if people are alone when they get in an accident, their actions affect their family members, the owners’ of the damaged property, and their own freedom. In order to reduce the number of deaths related to driving I believe that the dangers of driving should be more of a central focus during drivers ed, especially the sentences served if caught breaking the law. Teenagers need to understand that their decisions behind the wheel matter and being careless in a vehicle is one of the most dangerous things one can do in their lifetime.

I have personally been affected by other people being careless while driving. When I was in elementary school, I would play with a girl who attended the same school as me. She was one of the sweetest and most outgoing people I have ever met. Sadly, no one will ever get to know who she would have become or what else she could have done with that big heart and brain because someone else took that opportunity away from her. At the age of five, she lost her life in a horrific car crash while driving to a wedding where she was the flower girl. A woman bent down to grab her phone that had fallen in between the seat and the center counsel and in an instant this woman hit the limo that my friend had been riding in. My friend lost her life right in front of the church where the wedding was supposed to take place. The sad thing was, if the woman had just waited then this beautiful little girl would still be alive. But her phone was so important that she bent down, ran a red light, and killed a five-year old girl.

This story still haunts me. Everytime I see my phone while driving my brain automatically remembers her face and the articles that were written about the accident which is why I think that more steps should be taken to show the serious consequences of not being responsible behind the wheel. When I was taking Drivers Ed the majority of classes were spent discussing the rules and regulations of the road and then there were the recurring messages of do not text and drive or drink and drive, however none of these messages stuck with my peers. I do not think the teacher strived to make sure the students understood the negative consequences of not taking driving seriously. Fortunately, I understood the value behind these messages instead of simply blowing them off as side comments that did not apply to me. The world is filled with other people that have their own lives and aspirations, and people need to understand that their decisions behind the wheel matter. Everytime you get behind the wheel there is a possibility that you will not come home or ever see your mother’s kind face again; this is the sad reality that very few people want to confront nowadays. As a supporter and advocate for safe driving, I only drive in cars with people I am comfortable with and push others to do the same.