Your Life is Limited, Don’t Lose it, Use it!

Michael Baribault

Your Life is Limited, Don’t Lose it, Use it!

Drivers ed is
vastly important and is just one of the steps we can take in order to
prevent deaths as a result of driving. I believe beginning in junior
high, we need to start educating children on the importance of
driving, and the dangers of driving. Your vehicle is a weapon, and we
need to make sure that anyone that is operating a vehicle is
qualified to do so, and in a proper mental state. People should
realize that when they are angry, it probably is not the best time to
drive, even if it’s for a couple of hours. When people are angry,
their stress goes up considerably, which can lead to incomplete
thought out actions, which can lead to the death of innocent people.

As said, I believe
we need to start educating children beginning in junior high about
the importance and dangers of driving. They will need to understand
the importance of driving as in getting from point A to point B, but
also the dangers of potentially killing someone else, or yourself. I
don’t think 10+ some odd number of hours behind the wheel, and one
test can do justice in qualifying someone to drive behind the wheel.
Education should start when they are young, and should keep going. As
a matter of fact, I would not be opposed to tests every five years to
keep educating someone on the importance and dangers of driving. If
you fail the test, your license is revoked for 30 days, and then you
can take the test again. I believe it is a simple way of making sure
everyone is educated about driving.

I have never been in
a car accident myself, but I can speak to something I had witnessed.
I was driving down the freeway, when all of a sudden I noticed a
driver who was all over the place in my rearview mirror. This person
was winding in and out of every lane at 90+ miles per hour in a
decently heavy traffic hour. This car was barely missing others, by
the slightest amount, going way too fast. The car had passed me, and
was about 200-300 feet in front of me when they took a turn on the
highway off ramp, and were going too fast as the car flipped off the
road into a ditch. It was later found out that one of the three
people in the car had died, just for irresponsible driving. I thought
to myself that I was just a few hundred feet from the car, and if the
timing was different, what if they had hit my car as well as they
went off the road flipping, I might have been dead too. It made me
realize that we don’t know what kind of dangers we are on the
roadways, and it’s ever so important to be safe and cautious. Being
late to a meeting may cost you a job, but it won’t cost you your
life.

I can be a better
driver by not looking at my phone while driving. This is something
that is a work in progress for me. I will be and have been a better
driver by keeping my eyes on the road at all times, and turning my
phone on “Do not disturb,” so I do not receive any notifications
while I am driving except for phone calls, which are connected to my
car via bluetooth. This is just the first step for myself, and others
to take to keep everyone safe on the road, and make sure people can
get home to their families that day. Your Life is Limited, don’t
lose it, use it!