A Tragic Collision

A phone buzzes in the backseat, the driver unbuckles and reaches for the phone and in an instant two worlds collide. Two families who encounter the same grief. Two mothers who have lost a child. Two spouses who have lost the love of their life. The importance of proper driving etiquette cannot be expressed through mere words, it’s expressed through the increasing number of families who have experienced the grief of losing a loved one to the daily act of driving. Driving has become so monotonous that many drivers have lost their sense of caution and awareness. All drivers need a wakeup call. A call to action. A call to take a higher responsibility for themself and for all those on the road.

Preventative informational measures are taken in the majority of activities that could be dangerous or life threatening. For example, cigarettes of all types provide the side effects that could ensue from smoking. A rock climbing business provides the dangers of rock climbing. However, the rules of driving are merely taught. The dangers of not following them aren’t emphasized. Driver education shouldn’t be in place to get a driver on the road but to keep a driver on the road. In a high school, students, the vast population of new drivers, are taught a variety of necessary education. Students are taught math, literacy, science and social studies. They are allowed to take electives they are interested in but there are generally two electives that are not optional: sex education and physical education. Sex education is generally taught as a preventative measure in an effort to decrease the number of lives entering the world through means that aren’t ideal. Likewise, physical education is taught as a preventative measure in an effort to sustain the life that has been given. I definitely understand the importance of both of these necessary educations,however, how much more important would it be to implement an education about preventing the death of an existing life through an activity that is engaged by nearly everyone? Driving is an activity that the majority of high school students are just beginning. I believe it’s important to educate them about the responsibility they have and the need for caution. Driver’s hold the lives of themselves and others in their hands yet driving it’s not educated as it does. There is allotted time and importance put on sex education and physical education yet driver education is left for the parents or students to fulfill on their own time. The safety of the road is completely dependent on the education that is received. Some families who value driving safety go in depth with the rules and the need for precaution; however, some families are not blessed in this way. They are not blessed with parents to provide them with the necessary knowledge of driving.

Thankfully, I have been blessed with parents who both take driving education very seriously, but this was not something gained through mere motivation. When my mom was a younger adult her sister, Elizabeth, died in a car accident. Elizabeth was only sixteen years old. She did not get the chance to get her driver’s license or graduate high school. Her death was preventable.Through proper education and acknowledgement of simple safety rules, I would have another aunt to share life with.

Proper driver education is the most obvious solution for an increasingly growing issue. Vehicle accidents have continued to climb to the top of the list of leading causes of death yet action is not being taken against it. As I’ve mentioned, I believe an action that could be beneficial would be requiring a driver education class in high school so that the majority of the new driver population will start their driving careers well-versed in road safety. Another action I feel needs to be taken, is the implementation of the dangers of driving. This could be within the mandatory driver education course or it could even be implemented in the written portion of the driver’s test. I believe the written portion of the driver’s test could also be an area where we can make strides to make the roads safer. The written portion of the driver’s test has to be passed only once. I believe it could be beneficial to have to renew the written portion of the test to remind driver’s of the rules of driving and how the safety of the roads is dependent on the set rules.

Sadly, I cannot implement these actions, however, I can take responsibility for my actions. I can uphold the laws written to keep other drivers and I safe. I can remind myself of the dangers of the road to keep myself from falling in a monotonous, careless way of driving. Lastly, I can speak up. I can speak up about the responsibilities we have as drivers and the need to take those responsibilities on to make sure tragic collisions don’t happen, to ensure that no two hearts have to bear the same grief of losing a loved one to a preventable accident.