Unigo Scholarship

An individual is handed their first pair of keys at the age of fifteen and ready to begin driving on the road with various others. This pair of keys will not only open the door to the vehicle that will be used to transport them from point A to point B, but the symbol of the responsibility one will have to encounter, as the driver, not only risking their life as they enter the road but the lives of others if driving irresponsible.

Before an individual is allowed to drive on the road, they are required to take a Driver’s Ed class to learn the Do’s and Don’ts of the road. The class achieves this by showing the future drivers a video that is approximately two hours on how to safely get around. After the video, the student drivers are given various tests to test their knowledge on road signs, speed limit requirements, what to do in certain situations, and so much more. If successful they are handed what is called a permit and allowed to drive with a parent or guardian in the passenger seat, until they receive the real license. This is to ensure that the student driver is fully prepared to be on the road alone and if they hit a “road block,” they will have a trusted adult to help them out with any questions or concerns. Once a few months passes by, or on their seventeen birthday, the student driver will be able to take the real drivers test for a license that they will be able to use in their lifetime of driving. With that being said, with a driver’s license, and even with a permit, these drivers will have to take a few precautions to be a safe driver.

Being on the road all alone or with friends without any parent supervision is an exciting event, but keep in mind that you will not be the only driver on the road. This being the case, it is important to follow these obvious precautions. No matter what, never use your phone while behind the wheel, whether this be a phone call, a text message, or a snapchat notification. The second a driver uses their phone they lose all concentration on what is going on around them and increase the chance of them, and others, getting seriously hurt. The phone usage can wait until reaching the final destination. This same concept goes with communicating with a passenger on board, keep your eyes forward while talking to them, never losing focus of the road and your surroundings. Always, always wear your seatbelt. There is a valid reason why police officers use the motto “Click it, or Ticket.” In a likely chance of a crash, everyone in the vehicle will reduce their chance of getting injured if held back by a seatbelt and the only real injury is within the car. Some people find this out the hard way.

In my seventeen years, I have seen about four car crashes and been in almost three. One of the four car crashes I have seen was with an elderly man and a young teenage male. The young teenage male had the right of way since he was planning on going straight while the elderly man was planning on turning left. I assumed the elderly man was not paying attention to the red light in front of him and simply drove along. This caused him to come crashing into the teenage male and totaling both cars. I will also like to mention that when the car containing the elder crashed into the other vehicle it ricocheted and almost hit my cousin’s car, which was the car I was in. Continuing on, one of the three car crashes I was almost in was when I was driving home from school, with my younger brother as the passenger, and an elderly lady got in front of my car when she wasn’t supposed to. By that I mean, she had a stopped sign in front of her and instead of waiting for me to pass, since I was nearby, she immediately turned, making me have to put my foot on the break. Luckily, I was able to have a slow and neat stop since I was paying attention to the road, even though she wasn’t.

Driving on the road is a way a teenager, an adult, and other individuals can experience a form of freedom. This freedom, however, comes with great responsibility.