Round 3- DMV Scholarship

Kassandra Ortiz Celis

Driving is a very big responsibility, you have to have the safety of the pedestrians, other drivers, your passengers (if any), and your own. I, personally, have not been in a car accident but my parents have. My father has been in one. I was obviously very worried because his car was behind a trailer truck. I recently asked him what happened and why the crash happened. I know my father, he is a very responsible driver and very cautious. So it came as a surprise when my mother delivered that news. It was on a highway which is a very dangerous place for a car accident because it could be a distraction and cause a lot of traffic. The day of my father’s car accident, the traffic was very light and there was the right amount of space in between the trailer truck and my father’s car. My father said the traffic was moving smoothly but out of nowhere the trailer truck came to a sudden stop. My father tried to come to a stop too but since it was too sudden, he could brake fast enough. He was fine but his car was under the truck, as he explained it, but the other driver was fine too. They all worked their things out and my mother had to get him with our other car because his car had to be towed away.

Although my father and the other driver were fine, that isn’t the case for most car accidents. About 38 thousand deaths are caused by car accidents in the United States. There are reckless driving, drunk driving, and distracted driving. All of those have one thing in common, the outcomes. I have been in a car with one of my friends, who I thought was a safe and responsible driver. They gave me a ride back home after school and it was going good until they got influenced by another driver. The influence made them want to go into “race mode” even though it was with that other driver. It made me feel so unsafe but I also had other people’s safety in mind. I know some people, as passengers, they would be scared and thinking about making it safely and in one piece but I was worried about other people’s safety who didn’t ask to be driving next to or near someone reckless. I would feel and think the same thing if I was driving or a passenger near that same reckless driver, swerving in between cars. I was fronting and acting like I was not scared about crashing. I was afraid that they would joke even more if they saw that I was scared of their driving. Once we were on my street I felt like I was safe. They sped up a little more and came to a complete stop. I just acted like it was normal and got out of the car and just entered my home. I never really went in the car with them since then and made up excuses like I was going to stay after school or get a ride by my friend’s parent. These types of drivers are the same drivers that put many people at risk and make others afraid to go on the road. I would never be one of those drivers, I do not care if I am late for something or not, I would put other people’s safety over my own.