Name: Nicole Schlichting
From: Danbury, CT
Votes: 0
Don’t
Let Prom Be Your Last Memory
With
Spring comes a right of passage, Prom. Everyone is excited,
promposals, picking out
their
dress, getting ready with friends. So many memories. Unfortunately,
many prom nights
end
in tragedy for many young inexperienced teenage drivers.
Serious
accidents involving distracted driving among teens has reached
epidemic levels.
Everyone
is always checking their phones, texting, taking a selfie. This is ok
when you are
doing
pretty much anything else, but DRIVING. As teenagers, we all learned
in driver training
the
importance of focusing on the task at hand, driving. Do not text, do
not drink, keep your
eyes
on the road. But for most, once we got our license, common sense goes
out the
window.
According
to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2016 3,450
people were
killed
by distracted driving, many of them teenagers. Distracted driving
isn’t just texting, it
could
be something that causes you to take your eyes off the road, even for
a few seconds,
such
as changing the radio station, or turning around to talk to someone.
That’s all it takes to
have
a serious accident that could injure or kill you and your friends.
So,
as we all prepare for prom, let’s remember that if you chose to drive
to prom with your
friends,
be responsible. Take a group picture BEFORE you start to drive. Have
the passengers
be
the co-pilot and change the radio station, or send a text if needed
so you can focus on the road.
Prom
is a time to make memories, you don’t want it to be your last.
