Rahat Ahmed
Dr. Jason
English
9/13/15
Driving
Hi, my name is Rahat Ahmed and I’m 19 years old. I am currently a freshman here at City Tech and my major is Hospitality Management. I came to City Tech with a purpose and I am here to achieve it. My essay is going to be about something that I very much love to do which is driving. One thing that people should comprehend about driving is that there’s always a risk.
I can recall the first time I drove a car. My older brother told me that I should start learning how to drive, so he took me to a driving school and signed me up for driving lessons. I was really excited, because I always had a passion for driving and now I was actually going to drive a car. On the first day my instructor came to my house and picked me up in a Toyota Camry. Once I got into the car my instructor immediately gave me a brief lesson on how to apply the brakes, when to slow down and finally on how to press on the gas. I was itching to drive and I asked my instructor if I could drive today and to my surprise he said yes. I was very nervous at first but when I pressed on the gas pedal, I felt really confident that I could really do this. Once I got the hang of it, my instructor took me on the highway for the first time. I was a bit nervous but I had confidence in myself that I could pull this off. When you are driving on the highway it can be a bit tricky but the smart thing to do is to always stay calm and not panic.
The time I got a ticket for making an illegal turn. At the point in time I was a relatively new driver who didn’t know much about the roads. This incident took place on the day I drove my friend to his graduation ceremony. On our way back I kind of got lost because I was still pretty much new on the road and had very little idea of how the roads really worked. I was at a four- way intersection unsure whether to go straight or make a right turn, so I asked one of my friend who was in the back seat if he might know. My friend told me to put on my right signal and wait for the cars to stop before I can go ahead and make my turn. I waited and when the time seemed right I made my turn and as I’m driving away I hear the police sirens, and I asked my friend if it was me who they were trying to pull over, my friend calmly replied “No” so I continued to drive away and as I’m driving away I heard the cop say “pull over” and only then I knew that I was in trouble. The officer approached my car and asked me if I knew what I did back there was wrong or not, and “I replied “I’m not sure what you mean officer”. The officer told me that the turn that I had made back there was illegal and that I held up traffic. I tried apologizing saying I didn’t see the sign, but the officer wrote me a $145 dollar ticket anyways and also took three points of my driver’s license. Driving can be very risky if you don’t know what you’re doing so always read all of the signs while driving and follow all of the rules and regulations as instructed.
I remember the first time I sped and luckily did not get caught. It was a very sunny pleasant day and I was on my way to Bear Mountain with a couple of my very close friends. We were having a blast in the car. We were all having a sing along, cracking jokes and just having a quality time together. In the moment of which I was speeding, I felt like my car was literally flying because I had all of my windows up and so I completely forgot how fast I was really going. When my friend pointed out to me that I was going a 105 mph on 50 mph road, I gradually started to slow down because I knew there were cops nearby. I reduced my speed to 65 mph and honestly I got mad at myself, because I felt like not only did I put my own life at risk, but my friends as well. There is a limit to having fun but you should never cross your boundaries because there’s always a risk to everything that you do.
I have been through so much with my car that me getting into an accident on the FDR drive wasn’t surprising to me at all. It was 9 am on a cloudy Friday morning. I was on my way to Queens to pick up my outfit that was being tailored. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach my destination without conflict. I was basically on the right lane and I was trying to switch to my middle lane which was moving at a better speed. Unfortunately while I was trying to move onto the middle lane there was a car that was also trying to switch to the middle lane from the far off left lane. In order to avoid collision, I tried to swiftly move back to the lane that I was originally in. As I was trying to get back into my lane this other car came at a rapid speed and crashed into my passenger side. The damage was kind of severe because my bumper had a huge dent which would cost me a fortune to get it fixed. Everything that you do has its own risks, so always be careful.
Even though I have been through so much stress with my car, I still love it. When I first told my dad that I wanted a car by this summer, I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew I had to worry about the insurance and gas. I was totally wrong about the insurance because I actually spent way more money on maintenance such as car wash, repairing and the covering of the two accidents that I got into so far. Despite of everything that I have been through so far, I do not regret a single thing because I believe everything happens for a reason regardless of how cruel it may seem. At first I was very angry with myself for getting into those accidents, but after awhile I realized that it was ok, Life goes on. I am still going to do what I have been doing. Since I got a car. Nothing has changed for me. The two accidents would always be in the back of my head but that won’t keep me off the roads. Every time I am on the road now, I am always extra careful. Your choices behind the wheel matter because there are a lot of crazy drivers out there that don’t pay enough attention to the road. Sometime it’s not your fault but you should always be careful because driving is very risky especially if you panic, so always watch your surroundings and drive cautiously. Despite everything, I personally love driving; it gives me a feeling like no other. As if I am truly free, being able to accelerate and decelerate at a very rapid rate. With great power, come greater responsibilities.
