Smarter Drivers, Safer Roads.

I spend over twenty hours in the car every single week. Playing for a club soccer team located a little over two hours from my house, life on the road has become my normal. Still, it never seems to escape my mind that every time I get into a car, I’m trusting not only the driver (which isn’t always myself) of the vehicle I’m in but also every single other driver I will pass on that trip with my life. It’s a concept that many graze over, but riding in a car is ultimately the riskiest day-to-day thing our society participates in- unless every single individual on the road is driving safely. As I’m typing this sentence from the passenger seat of my mom’s car, the driver in the car to my right is texting, and the one to my left is barreling past us as if the speed limit were a hundred miles per hour. Neither of these drivers- or any who don’t always abide by driving laws- believe their actions will lead to a deadly accident, but it only takes one lapse in judgment to wreck someone else’s life forever.

Driver education can play a massive role in reducing the number of driving-related deaths. The requirements to become a licensed driver should be fitting for the responsibility a driver carries when they get behind a wheel. In my town, children can be driving entirely on their own by fourteen and a half. I was driving by fifteen, and while my parents made me take a driver’s education class, there was no requirement by the state to do so. My driving test was four right turns and three stop signs; again, I am fortunate to have parents who were strict about preparing me before allowing me to hit the road alone, but my case is the exception and not the rule. Too many drivers on the road are not properly educated, and this results in too many preventable accidents. A driver’s test should be structured in a way that showcases the driver’s readiness and ability to do every essential driving skill; a driver’s education class should be required and offered for free by the state before a driver’s test is even on the table. Preventing unready drivers from getting behind a wheel will prevent accidents.

In addition to ensuring that this country is producing competent and prepared drivers, there also needs to be a zero-tolerance policy for drinking and driving. Being a part of the soccer community has allowed me to make connections with people across the country. Inthe past month, this community has faced the tragic and absolutely preventable loss of two young players- both due to drunk drivers. One of these players was thirteen. She played for a club in my conference and was driving home with her mother when a truck veered across the median and hit them head-on. This alone is both infuriating and devastating; what’s more, the man has previous DUI charges. Had more severe action been taken against this man the first time, a girl with a lifetime ahead of her would not have been laid to rest. The second tragedy was the death of a graduate student who was a collegiate-team captain. A man in an SUV flew through an intersection and struck the student’s car- ending the life of the twenty-three-year-old who was driving safely. Police reported that the man in the SUV was unable to even walk due to his level of intoxication. It is indescribably heartbreaking and outrageous that this man’s selfish decision to get behind a wheel ended in the loss of somebody’s son. Somebody’s brother. Somebody’s best friend. Somebody’s teammate. The punishment for driving while intoxicated needs to be severe enough to both actually deter people from doing it, and prevent those charged with DUIs from getting back on the road. The soccer community is two day-brightening smiles smaller today because of two drivers who should have never even considered getting in their cars to drive home in the state they were in.

I take stories like this to heart. Over time, a necessary fear has been instilled in me to drive responsibly and carefully. Not only do I refrain from cell phone use while driving, but when I’m driving with others in the car I refuse to go anywhere unless everyone has their seatbelt on. When I find myself as a passenger in someone else’s vehicle, I will take care of anything they need me to in order to allow them to stay focused on the road; whether that be sending and reading texts for them, helping to navigate, or opening their drink so they can keep their hands on the wheel. All of my friends know that if they ever find themselves in need of a ride home because they, or the person who was supposed to drive them, is not in the condition to be driving, they can call me and I will always come get them. There are zero excuses for ever getting in a vehicle with an intoxicated driver.

I’m optimistic that with the minds of our generation, roads will become safer and we will find ways to prevent driving-related tragedies in the future. Until then, everyone needs to do their part in making simple but life-saving decisions every time they get into a vehicle. Driver education should be of utmost importance across this country; smarter drivers equate to safer roads. In addition, steps must be taken to eradicate intoxicated driving and protect innocent lives. Together, we are driving toward a brighter future.