Essay Contest | Teens To Teens | Don't Drive Stupid

ESSAY CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED

Katelyn Gabbitas was riding with friends when the driver sped down a canyon, lost control and crashed. Katelyn and two other friends were killed in the crash. The driver was sent to prison. Four families will never be the same.

In an effort to help teenage drivers focus on safe driving, AAA Utah and the Katelyn M. Gabbitas family invited teenagers to enter the AAA Utah Teen Driver Essay Contest. On December 17, 2008, AAA Utah awarded $1,000 to Anabel Alvarado and made a $1,000 donation to her high school.

2008 AAA Utah and Katelyn Gabbitas Essay Contest Winner
Anabel Alvarado
Cyprus High School

Thirteen minutes go by, someone dies in a car accident. Fifteen minutes go by, a teenager dies in a car accident. The leading cause of death in 15-20 year olds is motor vehicle crashes. Over 6,000 teenagers die in motor vehicle crashes each year in America. Why? According to the AAA, immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors. If this is true, why are we allowed to drive? There could be arguments to both sides of this issue, and there may never be a clear cut answer. The driving age may never be raised, so what can we do to lower if not eliminate teen car accidents? The answer should be obvious, we need to care. When we get into the car with friends, family, loved ones, we need to show them we care. Tell them to buckle up. Tell them why. Tell them they can trust you with their lives, because that is what they are handing to you on a silver platter. But, not only them, everyone on the road is also handing the security of their lives to you. That's a lot of responsibility and you accept it each time you get into the drivers seat of a car.

We, as drivers are held liable for the decisions we make. When we get into a car we are trusted to judge ourselves that we are feeling well, sober, mature, wise and we are expected to care. Let us prove to ourselves, our families, and America that we are responsible enough to drive, that they can trust us. Teenage car crashes cost the nation 34 billion dollars each year. Imaging the cost to the people who have come in contact with the teenager who was killed, they are not financial but emotional costs. Let us stop the suffering of all the families who get that horrible knock on their doors or that call that is going to tell them that their daughter or son is dead. When someone dies in an accident, a part of their friends, family and loved ones dies with them. They will ask each and every day why their son or daughter? Why them? They will probably get to the point where they will find a way to blame themselves. No matter the circumstances, it will never be their fault. But someone must be at fault, right? The family and loved ones will hate the person who killed their child, friend, sibling, etc. They may never forgive. What they must all realize is the fact that their lost one wouldn't want them to live with hate. They would want them to move on, but never forget. People who have killed others in car accidents are never the same, and will never be the same. They will remind themselves daily, whether willingly or unwillingly, of what they did. All will be punished, if not by the law, then by themselves. The families of the people they've killed are literally destroyed. Each and every one who was somehow involved will pray that it didn't really happen. That any moment they will see the smiling face of the one they lost. The reality of the fact is that they will never see them again. Do you want to be responsible for that?

We need to learn the necessary information for driving in all situations. Every future driver is put through a drivers ed class, must complete forty hours of driving, and pass a written and driving test, before they are given a license. They will prepare us. We know what is expected. We learned what we need to do if our car brakes lock, if we begin to skid, if the weather conditions are bad, and any other dangerous circumstances. No one wants an insecure driver on the road. It is up to ourselves to gain and apply the information we are given. It is much better to have information you don't need than to need information you don't have.

Two teenagers died on a Utah highway when the driver, who was critically injured, decided to race another car. The driver later stated, "I killed my two best friends, for a moment of an adrenaline rush." Do you think it was worth it? Do you think that driver lives with constant pain? You should because I know they do. Don't be that driver. Realize that the statistics I gave earlier are not just numbers, they are human beings. Human beings who have families. Human beings with dreams, hopes, goals, futures, but whose lives ended abruptly. No one has the right to take a life. No one has the right to get into a car and risk the lives of others. I don't expect my words to save 6,000 lives but, I do hope they will raise awareness for 6,000 lives. Please, drive responsibly.

To learn more about Katelyn Gabbitas, go to www.katelyngabbitas.com