Riding Towards Tomorrow: Becoming Educated Today

Riding Towards Tomorrow: Becoming Educated Today

Last year during my Junior year of high school I produced a documentary, Riding Towards Tomorrow, surrounding motorcycle safety and how to be safe of the road. It was a project that I spent over four months working on, but I learned so much from my experience and have become a better driver because of it.

A year ago, one of my father’s old students, Jared, passed away in a motorcycle accident. Jared was making a left-hand turn while another car was making a U-turn and crashed into the motorcycle, sending him flying. While he did have a helmet on, he was unable to survive the collision and lived for only nine minutes following the crash.

Many accidents such as Jared’s are caused because of a lack of attention on the road, therefore I made it my goal to spread awareness through his story.

To form a well-rounded argument, I spent four, six-hour days filming and gathering incite from instructors at a motorcycle instruction class, spoke and interviewed the Polk County motorcycle sheriff and was able to discuss with Jared’s mother her views on the traumatic event and how she is working to teach others proper safety measures. Throughout each of these experiences, I gathered many crash statistics and discovered how high crash fatalities are, especially in Florida. 

Much stress is put on young drivers as to how to be safe on the road: wear your seatbelt, look at your mirrors, use your blinkers, but many don’t have the experience needed to feel completely comfortable on the road. If a car pulls out in front of a new driver or they get stuck in a parking spot unable to see behind them, they begin to freak out and worsen their driving skills. Drivers need to be taught how to handle any type of situation that may arise on the road because the more frustrated you come the less control you have over your vehicle, which often leads to accidents.

Also, many of the crashes today deal with distracted driving. Someone may think Oh it’s a red light I can look at my phone for a minute or two, but, that minute will turn into the rest of the drive, especially if you receive a message and begin texting. More people need to understand how harmful cell phones are when you are driving. Put them down, turn them on silent, throw them in the back seat; whatever you need to do to stay off it, just do not pick it up in the car or you are risking your safety.

I created this documentary to spread awareness and tips on how to be safe on the road. The crash rate for motorcyclists is extremely high partly because many drivers don’t give them the proper space or never see them coming. The more you look at your surroundings the more you will discover how many motorists are out there. If you stay off your phone, use your blinkers, pay attention to the road, and become experienced behind the wheel your chances of crashing will significantly decrease. Pay attention to the road and become a safe driver; for one crash could end your life. 

Link to the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehwu6UVV9lw