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Safety
comes first in driving
I’m
sure many of you can remember, as I do, how happy and excited you were when
you finally passed your driver,s test and walked out of the office with your
driver’s license in hand. At the ripe old age of 16, it seemed I had lived my
whole life for the day I could finally drive. It seemed almost like a rite of
passa g e, finally taking that step f ro m childhood to being a young adult.
My parents tried their best to
destroy the moment by f req u en t ly rem i n d i n g me of the dangers of
driving and the responsibility that comes with driving. I heard them talk,
but I was more interested in feeling the wind blow through my hair as I
roared down the road in my muscle car, freed from the constraints of nagging
parents.
Never mind that I was driving a
Ford Galaxy 500 that was 10 years old and most likely would not start again
once I shut it off.
Ah, those were the days.
I’m sure as adults we can all
remember having near accidents because of stupid things we did while behind
the wheel. Granted, being an adult doesn’t stop people from doing stupid
things while behind the wheel, but I think most of us mature and become safer
drivers.
Then it becomes our responsibility as
parents to teach our kids to drive.
We can only hope they listen and learn
from the mistakes we made in our youth, saving them from a lot of pain and
heartache.
Recently I responded to a vehicle
accident involving a teenage driver. Seems one of the kids in the
backseat tried to change the radio station, which distracted the teenage
driver, who didn’t want the station changed. The driver lost focus, causing
the car to veer sharply, hitting the bridge and riding up the railing on the
bridge.
The car landed on top of the concrete
bridge railing, which is about 12 inches wide, and slid some 50 feet down the
bridge railing before falling back into the road and rolling on its top.
These kids escaped with minor injuries; they were lucky. If the car
had leaned the other way and fallen off the bridge, instead of falling into
the road, it would have plunged 60 feet to the road below.
It’s unfortunate that the
lesson for those involved came in such a violent m a n n er.
I also believe it can be a
lesson for adults as well.
Our kids are influenced by our
actions, so one of the best ways to teach them safedriving habits is by
setting a good example when we are behind the wheel.
24/7/365: You call, we res p o
n d .
KENNETH LEE KNIGHT is a battalion chief in the High Point Fire
Department.
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