It’s Not All Fun and Games

One
of the moments that teens look forward to the most is the day they
get their driver’s license. The moment they hear the instructor
say, “You passed,” a wind of freedom blows over them. I had
this exact feeling. I can listen to loud music with the windows down,
and all my friends would be in the car singing along. I thought
driving was going to be the most fun I have ever had in my life. I
was wrong. The first time I drove alone was to church. It was only
about a fifteen-minute drive, but little did I know that these
fifteen minutes were going to be the scariest of my life. The second
that I turned the key in the ignition, a pass of thoughts started
rolling through my mind. I remembered all of the videos I had watched
in my drivers ed class. A checklist started passing through
my mind. ‘Phone away, seatbelt, mirrors, headlights.’ This moment
made me realize how important the two weeks of class were. Those
classes not only teach teens how to drive but the importance of
safety behind the wheel. These classes teach you the main effect of
the disobedience of the safety rules. They lead to one of the leading
causes of death, which is accidents. The steps that went through my
head that day can help to reduce fatalities. One of them is to make
sure your phone is away and not in use. Another is to always be
wearing a seatbelt, no matter if you are driving or a passenger.
Headlights are essential. Lastly, mirrors are a huge part of making
sure you are aware of your surroundings.

A
time where I have seen another person driving irresponsibly is when a
person, on my dance team, was involved in an accident. This
particular time happened because they were looking at their phone
changing their playlist when approaching a stop, they were not aware
and ended up running into the rear of the car in front of them.
Although this is not the only time I had heard of them driving
irresponsibly, it was the one that ended in a collision. They had
their seatbelt on, and no one was severely injured. If they would
have been cautious and aware of what they were about to cause they
would not have been looking at their cellphone

I,
myself could take greater precautions as well. I am a person that
loses track of their speed. Speeding can make it harder to make
decisions while driving because it all happens faster. If I were to
watch my speed and drive responsibly, I could prevent more accidents
from occurring due to delayed reactions.

Overall,
driving is not always fun. It can be terrifying. Always make sure to
be aware of all your surroundings and to go through your checklist
when you get into your car.