It Cannot Come Down to Luck

It
Cannot Come Down to Luck

We
were still fresh with laughter, having just said goodbye to some
friends, when it happened. It was a busy street, as are most in
Miami, but this one in particular was unnavigable, especially if one
is parked and needs to remerge, like we did. My best friend, who was
driving, looked behind him, at the stopped cars, and assumed he had
time to merge into the lane. He didn’t.

We
both could’ve become a statistic that afternoon. To be honest, if
it wasn’t for the fact that he was barely in the lane we would’ve
died. There were chunks of plastic and rubber strewn across the
street, and the car itself was so badly twisted the door on the
driver’s side wouldn’t open. I am lucky that I did not become one
of the 1.25 million people that die each year in car accidents, lucky
that my best friend wasn’t crushed into the metal… It shouldn’t
have to come down to luck. Had everyone in the situation taken extra
care, it might not have happened. Being properly educated and
conscious while driving can make the difference when it comes to
situations like these and many others, and can prevent needless
accidents from occuring.

Driving
while being conscious is the most important change that everyone
needs to make. It means driving not just with the destination in
mind, but also a consideration for others on the road, with more care
and attention to every movement. It means treating driving regulation
as the bare minimum of what one can do to ensure their own safety.
Education campaigns play a key role in making laws and regulations
known, and they’re currently the main way that people hear about
what they should be doing. However, as helpful as it is to have signs
that say “Don’t drink and drive” or “ Buckle up!”, these
should not be doing all of the heavy lifting. Getting people to
understand that driving with a seatbelt on, for example, should be
less about how “it’s the law”, but rather about one’s safety,
about the impacts it has on everyone collectively. Often, the
constant repetition of these taglines inspires only annoyance in
those that don’t understand its basis. If all people hear is the
order and not the benefits to doing it, of course they’re not going
to comply! This is why this needs to be a cultural change. That means
having advocates, making sure that people don’t just see it coming
from the government but from voices they trust, so that the culture
surrounding driving can change, encouraging people to go with a new,
and much safer, current.

Driving
consciously, being cautious for the sake of the collective good is
the only way we can ward off the recklessness that causes so many car
accidents. Driving comes with a lot of risk, and not all accidents
are avoidable, but it is imperative that we prevent as many as
possible. There are thousands of lives at stake.