A Split Second Mistake and Lifetime Regret

We were driving down
the 101. The sun bathed everything outside the window in blinding
white. You’d have to squint to see the cars ahead of you. I was
sitting in the backseat – shoved in next to all the luggage. My
brother, parents, grandparents, and I were heading back home from LA.
All of us were tired. We couldn’t wait to get home after a long
week.

Then it happened. I
heard the screech of the brakes from behind us. My hand death-gripped
the seat in front of me as we all jolted forward, and snapped back
against our seats. Everyone started asking one another if they were
okay. Most of the concern was pointed at my grandparents, who were in
their 70s and hit their seats especially hard.

The front of the car
behind us was completely crushed. They’d driven underneath our car.
As my dad checked on the drivers behind us, my mom sat at the front,
shaking and thanking God for keeping us alive.

According to the
World Health Organization, approximately 1.35 million people die from
road traffic crashes each year. Despite it being one of the leading
causes of death, many people don’t take action to prevent it.

This is why driver
education is so crucial. Our drivers are thoroughly educated on how
to keep safe on the road – preventing many more unnecessary deaths.
I had a loved one pass away a few years ago, and I would do anything
to spend just another day with them. They died from a health problem
they didn’t have any control over, so it breaks my heart to hear
when someone dies because they chose to answer a text while they were
driving. Life is valuable and you can’t undo grave mistakes like
that. There are people who depend on us–children, parents,
friends–and we shouldn’t cut the time we could’ve spent with
them short because of some careless decision.

Because so much of
students’ lives are spent in school, school can have a great impact
on the habits and ideas they’ll carry into adulthood. School should
be used as an instrument to engrain safe driving skills into the next
generation of drivers.

To reduce the number
of deaths due to car accidents, we can have schools show students
real stories of people whose lives have been changed dramatically
because of car accidents: showing their and/or their loved ones’
lives before and after the accident. “Don’t text and drive”
posters don’t show us how truly brutal the emotional and physical
cost can be, but real stories can. Schools should also have resources
open to students to help afford drivers ed, because not everyone can
afford it.

Steps I can take to
be a safer driver are to seatbelt, put my phone away, and focus on
the road. I can keep others safe by reminding them to seatbelt,
making sure they’re in the right state to drive, and offering to
call a driving service when they aren’t.