Why Am I Getting Pulled Over?

“Why am I getting pulled over?” It should not be a question society asks frequently. With the new age of drivers driving whilst on the phone, or speeding these are not uncommon occurrences. There have been many cases knowing from my own friends’ experiences where they proudly point out how they are pumping over a hundred miles an hour. Signs on the road or normal speedometers are no longer doing it. I think it is time to make unidentifiable speedometers on the road that will automatically fine people. As a society we have come to a state where money is scarce. Inflation sadly. And in no way shape or form am I suggesting we make fifty dollar fines. Maybe ten to thirty dollar fines. It is one of those “lessons will be taught” when a person does it once. It is the little things that add up as people say. People will not want to pay for the fine, thus resulting in cautious behavior with the law.

I have personally drove irresponsibly once. It was the night of my birthday dinner and I was backing out of my friend’s driveway when all of a sudden I accidentally hit his sister’s car. Luckily no one got hurt! The only mishap was the cars resulting in a few dents. My initial reaction was blacking out of the situation. Anxiety pumping through my veins as I owned up to his parents. They were so nice and were just worried about us kids and sent me home. The whole drive home alone I could not believe it I kept and asking myself where I went wrong. Looking back at the situation it is also the fact that my generation tends to rely on the back camera way too much. It was a dark night in the middle of winter and the car was not as visible on the camera, as if I were to look directly at my rear or side view mirrors. That is something that needs to change. People need to not only rely on the technology that is conveniently there at our leisure, but also use the original car technology that has been reliable for years.

My grandfather too has changed a lot from when he was younger. My family would tell me stories of how he was a school bus driver when they were in elementary school in the Philippines. But get this… He was driving the kids to school while drunk. It sounds crazy I know. Somehow, he has never gotten into an accident. They were living in the barrio or the countryside. But having those little innocent lives at stake I still cannot believe it. What I have learned from those stories is that with one blink of an eye, or one reckless moment someone could have gotten easily hurt. Drunk driving to me is so avoidable. There should be no need to drive home to risk your life. As a teenager, yes there are consequences to your guardians finding out that you were out late at night illegally drinking. But what is worse is that you are underage and driving. It is a double whammy! There are other options that tend to be safer such as ride sharing apps. Any parent or guardian would rather see their child safe intoxicated than in a hospital or worse. There was this incident here in my town where the passenger who was drunk as well as the driver got into an accident. The driver made it. The passenger did not. Now he has to live with that guilt for the rest of his life knowing he drove the car his friend got killed because they decided to go on the roads. We as a society need to learn to be responsible of ourselves and do the right thing, because choices we make for ourselves become a chain reaction to others.

No driving experience is the same. One may take the same route to work every day, but one of those days there can be extreme traffic, or even an unpredictable accident. A step I like to take when driving, especially long driving is that the driver is not the only one awake, but a passenger as well. It keeps the driver extra alert on the road, accountable if you will. And a tip my mother would always tell me as she commutes to work is “If you are tired, pull over to the closest area you can and take a nap. Because it is better to get home safer than earlier.”