A Driving Machine that Kills

Getting your driver’s license isn’t just something you check off your list when you turn 16. Its not something that should be rushed or brushed off. The standard drivers ED should be a subject that you invest your whole into, where you take every sentence with regard and make sure that before you are going to start being on the road that you can confidently feel that you are ready and can take on this new learning and experience. I feel like a lot of people that I have encountered don’t even have experience with going on the freeway alone, or parking into two spots, or knowing what a yield is. Yes, all of this takes proactive and with time it would progress but the main issue here is how getting our license has turned into something to get rid of, or to look a certain way, but the actual information, videos, instructors, and your parents have significance meaning behind all of that and aren’t just there as show and by law. Its for our future safety and more importantly the lives that we will encounter and destroy if the right decision was made.

Several steps that can be taken before getting on the road, to reduce the amount of deaths related to driving include, limiting all distractions like cellphones, makeup, food, or making sure you are not intoxicated in any level or have taken any type of substance even if you are confident in your mind that you can handle it, you cannot. The consequence of an accident happening due to one of these instances is not even half of the severity of just avoiding them in all and prioritizing your safety first along with those in the same vehicle as you. You can also make sure that you are confident enough to get on the road and not just because you legally can or because someone is pressuring you. Take your time as this process cant be rushed and if that means waiting to get your license at 17 or 18, the small time gap in the long scheme is much smarter than winging it and hoping that you magically are able to be a professional on the first try. A lot of practice and trial and error will come with driving and this is the one thing you want to take at your own pace and pay attention to every detail on the road, while also being aware of what to do in situations that the other person/car is at fault and you have to avoid them or be able to catch when someone is a dangerous driver because of how you analyze their driving pattern, then you can avoid them as best as possible on the road.

I thank God to this day that I still haven’t been in any car accidents but I am unfortunately the friend of a 17 year old girl that passed away early this year due to driving under the influence of some drug and under the influence of alcohol. She had been out with her friends at a house and were drinking and she wasn’t able to spend the night and didn’t want to tell her dad that she wasn’t ok to drive home and she just needed to crash there because she knew she would get in trouble if found out. She thought in her head that she would be able to drive herself home to show her dad that she was home by the time she said she would and she somehow got her friends house that she was at to believe that she had an uber outside waiting to pick her up and no one checked with her to make sure she had left so she was able to get out with her car and sadly drove her car 90mph into a tree in Yorba Linda and passed away that night. This was the hardest thing I ever had to experience and the way this effected so many people and put so many people that loved her into a saddened depression, all of that just was not worth it just so her dad didn’t get mad at her. It was a wrong decision on her part and shows how teenagers don’t think about the possibility of consequences like these before they take a huge underlying risk like that because she probably thought she wasn’t that bad. This hopefully educated so many people that are our age that have ever thought about trying that just because they think they can handle it. It has definitely opened my eyes into seeing the detrimental effects of being a careless driver and not having a serious mindset when it comes to doing things behind the wheel.

After knowing about what happened to my friend Hailey, I started making sure that I was extra cautious when I got on the road, and that I made sure I wasn’t distracted, my phone wes far out of my reach and that my passengers, if I had any, made sure not to be a distraction and show me things while I was driving or were talking too loud. I make sure that we are always safe and have our seatbelts on, and that all mirrors are always set to where they need to be so I never have to worry about not seeing someone because my mirrors were messed up. I always make sure that when I am changing lanes, because I know how many endless accidents this has caused, to check my blind spot and make sure even though I didn’t see any cars in the mirror, that I double check over my shoulder to make sure that its clear. I also would teach my younger brother all these efficient habits at a young age so that way they can be exposed to these practices that would further benefit them in the future in being a more successful driver and hopefully never having a traumatic experience on the road or ever knowing anyone who did like me because I am scarred for life and that is something I will hold within myself for the rest of life for not having had being a good enough friend to have explained to Hailey the depth of risk and responsibility she was taking, by doing what she did. Drinking is the bigger end of the spectrum with driving distractions but every little quick second away from the road can be the cause of a greater aspect that was never expected and thats why with driving you have to take everything with a grain of salt and value what you are taught so you are always protecting yourself and others on the road.