Driver Education Initiative – Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Teamwork
Makes the Dream Work

Oh
driving. The freedom and responsibility that gets thrown at you once
you turn 16. It’s a big part of today’s society. Sadly though,
driving throughout history has caused tragedies that no one can take
back. One mistake of texting or drinking while driving and your life
could be over just like that. Drinking and driving to me was
irrelevant until people that were close to me were involved.

Tim,
Karen, and Tessa Thompson were 3 close family friends of mine. We
would go on vacation together, have dinner at my aunt’s house, and
just spend time together as if they were family. My caution about
driving as a whole changed on March 17th, 2019, when the family of 3
died on I-75 near Dayton. They were returning back home to Cincinnati
when a car came head-on with the Thompson’s car killing Tim and
10-year old Tessa on impact. Karen Thompson was pronounced dead at
the local hospital hours later. The next morning, I found out the
news and I was at a loss of words; I didn’t know what to say. Days
later it turned out the car that was going 80mph head-on was being
operated by a drunk driver. She was a 21-year old newlywed who
decided to drink on St. Patrick’s Day and tried to kill herself on
the highway. She was the only one that survived and now her life is
over. Every day she has to live with the reminder that she killed off
a family of 3 off the face of the Earth. It’s sad for both sides.
This situation really opened my eyes to the dangers of driving and
that we all need to cooperate with each other while on the road.

In
today’s world, the education of driving is so important because there
are so many distractions on the road that people need to practice
those temptations daily. I will admit that I am tempted to check my
phone when it buzzes because I don’t want to miss out on what’s going
on. I have to realize that my life is far more important than
checking my phone. Steps that can be taken are good judgment,
stricter laws, and improved technology. If you have drank any
alcohol, you should know that in 2019 you have so many options to
find your way home. To decrease the number of people dying from car
accidents, maybe we have to make laws stricter so people think twice.
Technology can do great things! Why not take advantage of this and
have Apple create a setting where your phone locks up when you’re
driving. That would be so cool. As a young driver, I know I am not
the greatest driver. I may cut someone off by accident or go faster
than I should be because everyone else is going that speed. I need to
think about the other people that are on the road with me and think
of them as teammates. We should all be trying to keep each other safe
instead of trying to “kill” each other just to get to our
destination quicker.

As
I go through my life, travel will be very important to me. My dream
job is to be a Sports Journalist in the future. It is a job that
requires travel, so I will be driving and flying a lot to do my job.
I realize that anything can happen, but I need to not be selfish
while out on the road. Humans are good at teamwork and communication.
If everyone teams up on the road, we can do great things!