Today has been a little of a struggle since my first class this morning. I've tried to get it out of my head, but I just can't so I thought why not share my experience, and hopefully maybe some people will take it to heart as much as I did. A Minnesota State Trooper came and talked to my Intro to Criminal Justice class today to talk about drunk driving, texting while driving, and not wearing your seatbelt etc. I know we've all heard this over, and over again before, but once again I'm reminded how much a tragic car accident could become a reality in my own life. The trooper showed a video called "Young Forever" which had really tragic car accidents with teenagers from Minnesota caused by texting, drunking driving, and not wearing your seatbelt. It had actual pictures from the accidents (ones where the dead bodies are still in the car), and interviews with some individuals who survived the accidents and how much it has affected their lives.
The drunk driving one really hit home to me because of a few personal experiences I've had. It brought back past pain and anxiety. It just goes to show how hard it is to heal from tragedies like that. It reminded me how PRECIOUS time is. How no one is invincible, I don't care how much you think you're a good drunk driver, or texter while driving, I don't care how cool you think you look when you don't wear your seatbelt. I can't say I'm not guilty of the texting while driving, I still do it from time to time, but it has changed drastically in the past 2 years. Keep it in your pocket. Put it in your glove department. Put it anywhere but in your hands. I don't care if no ones on the rode, or how good of a driver you are. Texting while driving is just as dangerous, or more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. People need to understand how real death is. Death doesn't care if you're only 16, death doesn't care if you are just the passenger in the car, death can come at any time. And as for the driving while intoxicated, I know many people who drive places after 2 ish beers and don't think anything of it, but it's still stupid. I don't care if you had one shot, 1 beer, or half a beer. Don't go behind the wheel!!! I don't care if you're driving 3 miles to your cousins house, or how many times you've driven drunk. Do you have any idea how much risk you're putting yourself in?!? Also, wearing a seatbelt has saved SOOO many lives, and not wearing it has killed SOOOO many more. Just put it on. Take the 2 seconds to do it. Another small part that the trooper talked about was speeding. I know I'm guilty of this, but it is about to stop. If you get in a car accident while speeding the chance of death increases dramatically. The speeding limits are not a suggestion, they are laws, so follow them. They aren't there so the gov't can be jerks, and make us get to places slower than we'd like, it's for our SAFETY!!!!
It honestly scares me to death, I'm still shakey. Imagining my friends, or my brothers all of sudden dead from one of these accidents is just unfathomable. I can't stress enough how you need to listen to this message. Your life is so precious. Your time here is so precious. Life is sooo short as it is, we never know when our time is up. I feel like I could sit here and literally beg forever for people to stop doing these things, but obviously I can't make decisions for people. Death is so so real. I tried for a long time to find the video we watched online, but it basically is only a presentation for State troopers to give so it isn't on the internet, but I found a found a video from a news station on a video by State Troopers called, "How to save a life" which basically has the same concept as "Young Forever", it isn't nearly as powerful, but it will have to do. I hope whoever reads this, if anyone reads this, please take 7 min out of your day to watch the video. Just please think before you text while drive, get behind the wheel drunk, or choose to not where your seat belt. Is a text worth dying for? Is it worth getting behind the wheel drunk because "you always do it", or "I'm just driving 3 miles to my house", this could be the one time things go terribly wrong. Is your life worth dying over a piece of leather (or whatever seatbelts are made of) that you are to lazy to put on? Think about your family and friends, all the people you love. Would you want to leave them behind and have them deal with all the pain of losing you forever over your mindless decisions? Or how about possibly killing a complete stranger because you were driving drunk, or went over the center line while texting? Would you wanna live with that guilt forever? Would you want to have to apologize to the family that you changed forever? I never ever want to get a phone call saying someone I love has died (again) from one of these decisions. I never want a state trooper coming to my house to share the news. I never want to have to go to the scene to identify the body, or see the car after it has been totaled. Please, just please consider your own life, and your loved ones. Put the phone away, don't drive with even a drop of alcohol in your system, and just click that little belt that takes a second to put on. Save yourself and the lives of many others..... The news broadcast video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ucTYTSDI0
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