Driving is a Privilege, Not a Right

On
March 15, 2019, exactly seven months after I had the privilege of
obtaining my license, I rear ended the back of a Mercedes and caused
a three car accident. Truthfully, I can’t recall the moments right
before the crash where I was driving down the biggest hill in my town
on one of the rainiest days we had seen in a long time. I remember
turning out of my neighborhood, driving the same route to school I
drove every day. I am not a teen driver that uses their phones while
driving, I wasn’t fiddling with the radio, and I was the only
person in the car. Perhaps I was too tired to be operating a vehicle,
especially in inclimate weather, but I will never forgive myself for
potentially causing harm to myself and the dozens of other drivers on
the tiny, winding road. Luckily, I had the worst of the injuries with
a sprained wrist. I think back to that day each and every time I get
behind the wheel of a car.

Nearly
1.25 million
individuals die each year from road crashes, and there is no way to
accurately measure how many of those are from cell phone usage, but I
truly believe it is one of the top causes, along with driving under
the influence. Each person is required to take a drivers ed
course before they obtain their license, but it doesn’t seem to be
enough to reduce the number of deaths related to accidents. I can’t
even imagine how much larger the number of deaths per year would be
if we didn’t require a drivers ed course. These courses
are important in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving
because they inform drivers on not only the laws they should be
following, but also the detrimental effects a car can have if used
irresponsibly. After my accident, I was required to attend a program
called “Reality Check” where we went to a funeral home and saw
pictures of accidents that resulted in deaths from teens and adults
right here in our county. At the end, we spoke to a 17 year old boy
who was in a head-on collision and unfortunately killed the other
driver. The pain he was feeling was evident in his voice, face, and
demeanor, and it was heartbreaking to hear someone my age having to
deal with the responsibility of someone else’s life. A program like
that is so incredibly important because while we hear statistics and
understand that 1.25 million people per year is a tremendously large
number, we think “that’ll never happen to me.” Hearing a very
personal story and seeing pictures of accidents that resulted in
death from potential neighbors taught me more lessons than driver’s
ed and defensive driving ever could.

While
our cities and our nation already have many laws in place to make
driving safer, deaths resulting from car accidents are still on the
rise. Cell phones are a major issue. On iPhones, there is a function
that automatically puts a phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ when it
detects the individual is in a moving car. I believe this function
should not be an optional setting. If drivers were not distracted by
their phone screen flashing whenever they get a notification, they
would be less inclined to pick it up while driving. I believe that
all cars should have some kind of CarPlay built into it. While I
understand that most people cannot afford a brand new car with the
latest and greatest technology, it is important to enforce the
hands-free technology in as many people as we can. If we cannot keep
drivers off their phones, we have to implement new solutions to make
their usage safe and keep their eyes on the road. Another major issue
is impaired driving. When individuals are on parole, there is a
breathalyzer put into their cars that does not allow the ignition to
start if the person blows above the legal limit. I believe each car
should have technology like this. One downfall to this is that we
haven’t found a way to breath test for drugs other than alcohol, so
a person impaired on illegal drugs could still operate a vehicle.
Services like Uber and Lyft are amazing creations that help people
get home safely, but not everyone utilizes them, and there are
obvious dangers of getting into a car with a stranger, especially if
the individual is impaired. Policemen should be stricter with pulling
people over for speeding. I see people going 80-90 mph on the
highway, and they get away with it. I hardly ever see cops on the
highway or even in my city, and it makes people believe that they can
drive at ridiculous speeds, put people at risk of death or serious
harm, and not receive any consequences. Putting up more speed
detectors is a good start, because from what I’ve seen people slow
down when a sign with flashing blue and red lights tells them how
fast they are going. Steps to reduce the amount of deaths due to
driving related circumstances are difficult to come up with and
enforce, but I believe that being stricter with the laws and using
the amazing technology we are capable of creating is the first step.

Every
time I drive, I see at least one person next to me texting while
driving, and it makes my stomach turn. If I am in the car with
another person driving, whether it be my friends or my parents, and
they reach for their phone, I immediately react and stop them from
putting both of our lives in danger. To be a better, safer driver
myself, I can continuously take defensive driving courses to keep
myself updated with new statistics and have a professional ensure
that my driving is the best it can be. Every driver has to remember
that even if they are the best driver in the world, other drivers
aren’t so careful. I can help others be safer drivers by continuing
to keep them focused on the road when I am in the car with them, and
as for other people on the road, keeping a safe following distance is
the best preventative measure. Driving is a privilege, not a right.
Once people understand that their driving abilities can and will be
taken away from them, I believe there will be a reduction in the
amount of deaths caused by car accidents.