Why Safe Driving is Cool

Why Safe Driving is Cool

Left turn, right turn, then two more lefts. Finally, we’d gotten out of traffic and hit the freeway. Two teenagers exhibiting the antics of adolescence as we raced down the empty highway. I could see the number on the speedometer increase significantly as I sat in the passenger seat watching my friend fiddle with his phone, nonchalantly trying to reply to a text and keep eyes on the road concurrently.

As the number on the speedometer kept increasing I couldn’t help but think how much of a nightmare this would be for the old and frail teacher I had during my drivers ed course. My guilty conscience was reverberating his unheeded words of not drinking alcohol, using your phone, overspeeding, disenganging your seatbelt or having your music blasting when you drive. Unlike me, my friend never took a driving education course. I do not think one can grasp the importance of something one never possessed, so I doubt in that moment his mind reflected on the risk of death and danger we were putting ourselves in as he was doing all the aforementioned taboos.

A couple years after this night I can remember thinking how if maybe there were more roundabouts on the road, or speed bumps and traffic lights at intermittent locations, maybe the events of that night wouldn’t have transpired as they did. Mobile phones might make communication easier but they have definitely made safe driving harder and that’s reflected in the 1.6 million crashes that happen every year because of them. I stress to nearly everyone I meet these days to ensure they always have both eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and away from their phone because I have witnessed the repercussions firsthand.

I also fervently wish there was a service then that you could access where if you’ve been drinking they would be able to escort you where you were going if you called and not fear any severe penalties. That would have been handy that night because the only reason I was even tolerating my friend to go that fast was because I needed to get home before my mum killed me for staying out past my curfew.

Nowadays whenever I drive I always make sure to set a good example for anyone that finds themselves in the car with me. A lot of drivers often ignore the little precautions to observe to ensure they are safe. Before I drive any car now, I inspect all the tires, water level in the engine, get in and check my mirrors, my breaks and strap my seatbelt before I head anywhere. A lot of young people have a terrible misconception that driving recklessly is cool so I try my best to always dissuade my peers about that by setting a good instance when I drive. I do this in remembrance of the fatal accident that occurred later that night claiming my friend’s life and nearly mine.