The Most Painful Death Is the Unexpected One

The first time experiencing death is very different from the first time experiencing unexpected death. I knew that my grandfather was dying for a while up until the moment it happened. We all knew it was coming and so when he passed, it was weird to think I’d never see him again, but at least I knew it was coming. I got to spend all my time with him up until that moment and I knew that he had lived a long and happy life. He was ready to go. When he died, it was his choice and it was his long life that was ending.

When a family friend died in a car accident, I was not prepared. I had just seen her a few days before and the thought of never seeing her again was incomprehensible. Although she and I were nowhere near as close as I was with my grandfather, the impact of this unforeseen tragedy was so much worse. It takes only a small mistake to change many people’s lives in a split second. It was raining on the highway, a truck driver was going too fast, it hydroplaned across the median, and then hit another car head-on.

Almost 3,700 people die every day from vehicle accidents around the globe. Cars, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and trucks are all driven as though they are toys. Nobody truly understands the danger of these kinds of vehicles until they’ve experienced some of their danger firsthand. That’s what is so scary about driving and that’s also what is so important about driver education. Being taught how to drive and how to safely navigate the road even in unsafe situations is so important in making sure that fewer people die from car accidents. I still remember being in my sophomore driver education class and being shown videos of car accidents that could have easily been prevented. I can still hear my teacher’s voice and it always reminds me of the people that I’ve lost because of foolish decisions made.

Good things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. That’s just not how the world works. There’s nothing stopping a beautiful and kind person from passing away after a car accident. Those people who make poor decisions on the road can live and those who are driving safely can die. The only way these tragedies can be prevented is if everyone remembers the sound of their driver’s education teacher’s voice in their head. If everyone could remember the lives that have been lost because of stupid mistakes maybe more people can be saved.

Even people whom I trust to be good drivers can make mistakes. Even when they’re doing everything in their power to drive safely, there’s no guarantee that things will work out. My little sister was in the car with my friend on the way to school one day and they slid on ice and hit a stop sign. They both survived, but it left them feeling shaky and hesitant to get back behind the wheel. Nothing is scarier than a taste of what kind of damage these machines we use every day can do.

It’s up to every single driver to make sure that everyone is safe. That includes me. That means that I need to work on my bad habits. I need to stop fully at stop signs. I need to slow down on back roads. I need to watch carefully for pedestrians. And although doing my best may not keep me safe in my car, it will hopefully keep others safe, and that’s what is important. Don’t drive safely just for yourself. Drive safely for the passengers in the other cars. Drive safely for the people walking their dogs on warm afternoons. Drive safely for the driver education teachers that try to reduce the number of vehicle-caused deaths in the world. Drive safely for your future, and most importantly drive safely for other people’s future.

I don’t want anyone to have to feel how it feels to have someone taken from your life because of a car accident. I don’t want anyone to lose people because someone treated a machine like a toy. I don’t want any good person to pay for the faults of someone else. It’s the cause and effect of it all that needs to be seen. It’s the education that each driver is given that results in history that affects people for the rest of their lives. Driving is important, but not as important as driver education.