2020 Drivers Education Essay Contest

Receiving a license and driving alone for the first time was both exciting and a very new experience for the 16-year-old version of me. I could finally drive myself to my activities, school, and many other places. But, it was only the third time I drove by myself that another person made a poor decision that still impacts me to this day, almost two years later.

Distracted drivers are everywhere, and unfortunately, I was one of the victims of someone’s bad decision. On a scorching summer night, a distracted man ran a red light causing his enormous Ford F-150 pickup truck to smash into my car within a matter of seconds. The airbag was immediately deployed while the windshield cracked. The plastic encasing the interior of my car was now dangling from the ceiling, and the cross that was hanging around my now broken rearview mirror was also broken on the ground. I was terrified, screaming, and banged up. One woman came running from the neighborhood across the street with no shoes on after hearing my endless ear-piercing screams. The man in the truck simply got out of his truck and stood by the side. He did not know what he had just done nor did he know how that event would impact my life to this day.

For weeks on end after the accident, I was constantly applying Neosporin to my burns from the airbag and wrapping my cuts in bandages. My scars, bruises, and cuts were everyday reminders of the experience. Unfortunately, these wounds did not heal as fast as a “normal” person’s would due to the fact that I was still in recovery from an eating disorder. As I learned how to feed myself correctly, that energy from the food was not only going to heal my body but now also going to healing my wounds. The swelling, burns, and cuts would go away, but the memory would not. To this day, I can vividly remember that hot summer night, the accident, the ambulance, and the weeks following.

After the accident, driving was not the same. I was terrified to drive through intersections, by pickup trucks and semis, and on the interstates. I purposely went out of my way to avoid all left turns and speed limits over forty-five miles per hour. While every other sixteen year old was happily driving themselves and their friends to wherever they wanted to go, I was avoiding all outings that required a car. I would even panic sitting in the passenger seat when another large truck would pass. I had to entirely relearn how to drive and how to do so without overwhelming anxiety. A year and a half later, I am still working on becoming more comfortable driving and managing my anxiety. That man’s split-second decision to run the red light will forever impact my life.

Distracted driving is an ongoing issue, and there needs to be more boundaries in place across the country to prevent such horrific accidents from occurring. My experience with distracted driving is only 1 out of millions. Every single time a person gets into a car, they are putting their life on the line. As we drive, we have to trust that others are being safe and undistracted drivers too.

There are many public service announcements informing people of the dangers of distracted driving, but these are not enough. In Nebraska, where I live, texting and driving is a secondary offense. This means that a driver must be charged with another violation before they can be charged for texting and driving. This must be changed. In order to save lives, public announcements and commercials are not enough. Our country will lose thousands more lives if texting and driving is not made a primary offense in all 50 states.

Distracted driving kills 8 people every day, and one of those people could have been me. Each and every citizen needs to realize they are not perfect and they are not capable of multitasking. All it takes is a split-second bad decision to cause an accident. Simply putting cell phones in the back seat or trunk can save a life. I have made an oath to myself to never text and drive, and I believe others should do the same. I know every time I get in my car I am responsible for staying focused in order to protect those around me. Drivers across the world need to know: that text can wait.