Recently I found out about one of my classmates passing away from a devastating motorcycle accident. It was located in my hometown and the cyclist sped through a red light, crashing into the car in front of him. There were reports later providing information on the accident as the cyclists' speed was a major factor of the accident. Police found the cyclists' head in the helmet. I discussed with my family members this unfortunate accident and we later found out about the other individual who was involved: a babysitter who was rushed to the hospital and suffered from injuries as well. Before the reports of what caused the accident, the other individual was sent death threats because of my old classmates passing.

While I am truly upset about not having another classmate at high school reunions and such, I wanted to write this article as a reminder to motorcyclists and drivers out there to be careful on the road. It CAN happen to you. I feel that at times we can have this mentality of "that won't happen to me" and we feel invincible. I know I felt that way when I had my car before ending up into an accident myself.

Every time I am in the car with my mother, we both have been seeing young motorcyclists and drivers revving up their engines, speeding, and cutting in and out of traffic after we have all read about tragic accidents like the ones in the news recently. Is cutting in and out of traffic really going to save you an excessive amount of time? I was watching a show with my younger brothers and there was a clip of people experimenting the difference between cutting in and out of traffic versus staying in one lane for the duration of wherever the destination was located. The show stated that the only difference between these two options is two minutes. Is two minutes that significant of a deal to risk yours and everyone else on the road's life?

Even though I was not close with this high school classmate, it made me stop and realize the importance of driving safely on the road and how big of an impact one decision on the road can make on your life. Please drive safe on the road. When you are on the road, you are not only looking out for yourself but others as well. Speeding is very dangerous and I do not want to read another article of someone passing away because of an accident that could have been prevented if speed was not a factor. Even though I do not know you, I care about you. So please drive safely and educate others to do so as well. Thank you.