Crusade for Safety

This little teaching blog has been such a blessing to me. A few years ago, I decided to share a piece of my heart with you. I wanted to bring awareness to topic that was very important to me. It's time for my fourth annual Crusade for Safety.

They say time heals all wounds. I wish that were true. 16 years ago, my life changed forever. Sometimes, a song on the radio can bring me back to that day. Or even the months and years that followed that we continue to struggle. All of the surgeries and other issues that arise for a traumatic event...I can be brought back to that in an instant. I think that the fact that I couldn't remember for so long, left a huge void in the healing process. It's like knowing something happened, but not being able to remember it was so difficult. Now, I remember most of that horrific time.  And I wish I never remembered any of it. Turns out, not knowing is better than knowing in this case.

 I lost a childhood friend that morning.  He was a good guy and always had something funny to say. The way that boy could make me laugh, I'll never forget it. The hardest part now, is being an adult who has experienced marriage, children, a career and life...realizing that he never got that chance. 

AAA  put out a great article earlier this year. I think the biggest thing I could stress, is that if you have newly licensed teens, think about how many people are in the car with them. Chances of a fatal crash go up significantly with each passenger that is in the car. Cell phones are a HUGE issue that we did not have in 1999. Now, parents have to add more to the list of things to discuss with teens and safe driving. PUT THE PHONE DOWN! Teens are on their phones all the time. Just remember "IT CAN WAIT"!!! I know some adults that could use that reminder (including myself). 

 I'm using our experience to help others. If sharing this story helps ONE family sit down and discuss how their teen is driving, who is in the car, where the cell phone is, etc...than I'm happy. I can't bring my friend back or change the past, but I can bring awareness to this issue. I firmly believe everyone has their day, and I firmly believe we also have experiences that can be avoided. Take the time to talk to your kids, at least they will be LESS likely to experience this type of tragedy first hand if they follow a few simple guidelines. 

For more stats and information on teenage driving, check out DoSomething.Org.