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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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Driving: It's our responsibility

The incident where Paly student Megan Coughran allegedly hit and killed a girl while driving her car last week struck a chord in the heart of this community, and has had a profound effect on how I view responsibility.

Responsibility. This word has been haunting me increasingly since the accident, and it should haunt all of us.

Adults are supposed to have all the responsibility, right? But the fact that we drive cars gives us much of the responsibility of an adult.

Recently having gotten my license, I have the responsibility to keep every pedestrian, bicyclist and driver that I pass on the road safe. The driver has the responsibility to control the car in a way where no bystanders are harmed by their control of the road. That’s the responsibility given to everyone by the DMV when they get their license. And the average driver should be able to follow up on their responsibilities according to the law.

The car is potentially a killing machine. Ignoring that is taking the lives of those around us dangerously close to the edge of death. The fact that we have the privilege to drive a car in high school while surrounded by drugs and alcohol shows how much responsibility we have on our shoulders. We are no longer babies playing with toys; we’re adults playing with deadly devices.

We shouldn’t demonize Coughran for her mistake. We should learn from her actions because any of us could end up in the same situation. It’s just a matter preventing ourselves from getting into that situation, and acting correctly and logically once it happens.

We shouldn’t allow any distractions to take our attention off the road, and if we do screw up we stay around and wait for the authorities to arrive. It’s not the responsibility of the DMV or the government to keep people safe. It’s our job.

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