DREAMER

I was flipping through the channels one night, and it was the usual. There was nothing special. Then something caught my attention. I saw a car drive right into a convenient store. The more captivating part about it was that there was a man standing by the cash register less than a foot away from the car! I couldn’t believe it. The driver must have been out of his mind to drive like that!

I kept watching the show to see what else would come up. There were car accidents worse than what I have imagined. An eight ton truck ran into a passenger car. They collided and immediately the vehicles toppled over. Luckily, and amazingly, none of the drivers had died from this horrible accident. Also, drunk students are a problem. High school and college students sped through a neighborhood and accelerated even faster when they found out the police were chasing them. They thought they could outrun them. The students were at a traffic light but did not stop at the red light. There was a collision and again, fortunately, no one was severely injured.

While I was watching this, I was simply shocked. I could not believe there were drivers out there who were causing all of these accidents. These people were abusing their licenses. There are many different types of car accidents and the severity ranges. Many time, actually most times, people are terribly injured and some of those who are unfortunate lose their lives. Most of these “dangerous drivers” passed their tests when they received their drivers’ license. And crashing into other cars was not part of the test.

I think the media also has an influence. There are so many movies that show car crashes and accidents. This is to grap the audience’s attention. However, these scenes might unconsciously tell you that they are “cool” and “it’s okay” since Brad Pitt did it (or something of that sort). Celebrities are also caught in many car accidents and this can also be something that adds on to the impact on teenagers.

DWI: Driving while intoxicated. I think this is the primary reason for car accidents. Drunk driving is actually a very serious problem. While you are drunk, you lose consciousness and you cannot judge which is right and which is wrong.
DUI: Driving under the influence of alcohol. The United States has one of the most horrible drunk driving rates. From what I have experienced while living in the States, I think it is because teenagers, and sometimes even adults, do not take it that seriously. I was in a “safety-class” in middle school where we learned about the dangers of driving. The boys and even few girls were laughing at the footage of car accidents. This obviously tells us that they are not serious. They do not know how serious it is and how severely it can change their lives. However, it can of course be because we were young and a bit immature. But either way, I think the importance of drunk driving should be impacted more on students who are getting ready to be adults.

Also, the drunk driving rate in the UK is not even half of that of the USA. I have been to London two years ago and I think I know why this is so. The driving rules and all the safety regarding driving is very serious and exact. Everyone understands it and cooperates with it. I did not see any reasons for there to be a car accident in the city of London.

For those of you are getting ready to get your permits:
Heads Up **
Driving is a privilege. Do not take advantage of it. Don’t take charge of the wheel if you had even a sip of alcohol. Keep reminding yourself what is right. You don’t want to risk your life, do you??

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrivingIssues/1109441389.html
http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp1.cfm?dept=29&id=2299

Posted by skim092 under Dangers in Life & Thoughts and lessons and etc. | 2 Comments »