Mom’s Words

HAILE GLEASON – ESSAY

Sit still, put your seat belt back on, pay attention, no texting and driving. These are words that annoyed me at one point in time during my younger years. Now I appreciate the constant reminders my mother use to say to me on a daily basis. They are important life saving alerts that I know I needed and now I ensure my younger sister hears from not only our parents but from me as well. Drivers ed is more than just a class. It is a class that has a direct impact on someone’s life such as my own. The youth of today need to know that this is just not another obstacle to overcome to get their driver’s license but a good resource to help us all become better drivers. This course needs to be taken seriously because accidents happen every day and sometimes even to those we know. Most if not all of them are preventable with proper driving safety and education.

We can all do our part to help reduce the number of deaths related to driving to include no drinking and driving, no texting and driving, and simple driving awareness. Making sure we are well rested and putting our cell phones away (out of reach) before we even start our vehicles are all good habits to pick up when getting ready to drive somewhere.

I have never been in an accident where it was my fault, however, I have been in minor accidents where other people have hit me. As small as it may have been it still was a scary experience for me and my family. I can’t imagine how much more traumatic it would be to be in a more severe accident. I have heard that other friends or family have been in accidents and it scares me and worries me. This is why I take driving very seriously because I know it can directly impact me or those close to me. I know it is important to be that role model myself to my younger sibling and friends who are around me. They complain about my slow cautious driving, but I make sure I let them know it’s important to be safe. Being alert and careful while driving saves lives!