That’s Not Cool

I
have always had a lot of pride in myself for being a good driver. I
think a lot of this has to come from having a great drivers ed
teacher and my dad teaching me helpful tips to avoid an accident. I
also think that being a good driver is knowing how to act and when
you shouldn’t be behind a wheel. This was a topic about driving
that I had always heard but I think a reason why it sticks with me so
much is because I sadly lost my uncle to a drunk driving accident.

I
was in 5th grade when I was in the bedroom with my mom and she had
the phone call about my uncle being in an accident. I am 20 years old
now but I still remember the way my mom was laying in her bed,
wrapped around my dad’s arms and her arms around me. She didn’t
have to tell me what happened when the way she was crying told me
that something awful happened to my uncle. When I took my drivers
education class, I remember my teacher in class going over the
dangers of drunk driving and telling us real stories about victims of
drunk driving accidents. Fast forward and now almost everybody I know
has a drivers license and sadly, not many of them kept in mind to
drive responsibly. There was this one guy I had on Snapchat and I was
looking through his story of him posting videos of him shotgunning
beers and taking shots. I then got to the part where he was driving
down the street and recording his speed. He was going almost 100 mph.
Luckily, nobody got hurt but not everybody has this same luck.

One
time I was hanging out with my friends when we decided to go out to
eat for lunch. I’m usually the one who likes to be the driver
because I know that I can trust myself to be responsible but this new
girl I met offered to drive us instead. I honestly didn’t feel like
driving that day so I agreed. Horrible mistake. She was swerving in
and out of different lanes. When she would turn, she would drift her
car and almost hit cars next to her. Fortunately, nobody got hurt but
I learned to not get into a car with someone unless I really know how
they drive.

I
believe that the drivers ed system is doing a good job on teaching
people how to drive responsibly but sadly, not everyone is going to
listen. They think it’s cool for them to drive drunk or crazy to
impress their friends. I think that it would be helpful to also teach
students to know when to get into somebody else’s car when they are
not the ones driving. Driving drunk and crazy is not cool. Want to
know what is cool? Driving responsibly and not putting yours or
somebody else’s life in danger.