The Last Text

March 16, 2013.

“911 what’s your emergency?”

“There has been an accident. A motorcycle accident. There’s blood everywhere! Please get here now. THE MAN IS NOT BREATHING!”

The man in question was thirty-one-year-old Daniel Boccella (AKA Uncle Davey)- pronounced dead on the scene. Cause of death: motor vehicle collision.

March 18, 2023.

“Have you ever had an experience of being in a car accident or have you seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly?”

Unfortunately, my answer to that question is a strong, yet regretful yes. I was just eight years old when my parents sat me down to explain that Uncle Davey would not be hosting our annual Easter egg hunt like he always does. In fact, he would never be hosting this Easter egg hunt again. His time on this earth had been cut short due to his irresponsibility while driving on the road. Who would have thought that Uncle Davey’s drafting of a text to his boss would cause a head-on collision with a pickup truck causing trauma to his brain, cracked ribs, a broken spine and limbs, and a bloody mess all over Route-29? At the moment no one thought of the risks. I think about it all the time now, every time I start my car, actually. His lack of rational thinking cost him his life and caused my family and I to continue our lives with feelings of emptiness, lingering thoughts of “what if”, and lists of regrets. These lists of regrets are extensive, but informing Uncle Davey on driver education, steps to reduce the number of deaths, and ways to help others be safer on the road are all in bold.

Implementing more driver education is the first step in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving. Having this type of knowledge will help drivers realize the responsibility of operating a vehicle. The lives of others along with their own are in the hands of the vehicle operator when driving on the road. Drivers don’t typically realize that every time they enter the road, they are operating a machine that weighs thousands of pounds which has the ability to kill an entire family in an instant. One wrong move, lapse of judgment, or distraction can kill a driver and others on the road in just a blink of an eye. Administering prominent driver’s education would bring awareness to the dangers of texting and driving, distracted driving, tired driving, and driving under the influence, helping to limit the number of deaths on the road.

To reduce the number of deaths related to driving there needs to be harsher penalties for DUI charges and texting and driving. This would scare people into not wanting to risk doing these acts. With that, people who break the law for recklessly driving should have their license revoked permanently. People who recklessly drive are unlikely to stop driving this way simply because of a charge or ticket, and we need to get them off the road immediately. Finally, with the increase in high level and user- friendly technology, there should be an app or database where people can report a potential reckless driver on the road. This would bring attention to the people tahat lack common sense and care for others while driving, where actions can be taken to either inform them or get their liscence taken away. Either way, stricter driving laws and more communal awareness to these issues will help to stop as many deaths from car accidents. Car accidents, which used to be considered freak accidents, are now turning into just another common death, and we need to put a stop to this dilema before getting on the road at all is considered a suicide mission.

To be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road, there are a few precautions that I can take that require minimum effort. First is one that I already do which is locking my phone in the center counsel so I won’t feel the need to look at it. If other drivers did this too it could reduce deaths caused by texting and driving. Although I am a music lover,fromr now on my music will never be over volume 10. This will ensure I will not cause an accident due to distractions from my music, or low attention because I am too focused on my music. I will make sure not eating while driving, which also will increase my focus on the road rather dedicating my attention to things like food, where my lack of attention to the road could cause an accident. I can tell my friends and people getting into my car my story and why I take driver’s safety education so seriously, in hopes that some of them also change thier driving habits to help create a safer road. Finally, I can utilize social media platform to raise awareness for weckless and distracted driving on the road, along with the riskiness of doing so. I may not have been able to make these changes ten years ago which, who knows, might have saved Uncle Davey’s life. I can’t go back in time no matter how much I wish I could. But when I can do now is use my power for good to enforce safe driving habits, which could save the life of someone elses dad, uncle, friend, and beloved. I can use my power to prevent someone else’s last text.