Recent car crashes cause safety concerns

Accidents occurring often in Grayslake.

Alexan Larson, Staff Reporter

Recent accidents in the Grayslake area this past month have been stirring up a trend within the student body with concerns on driving safety.

When many people hear the word drive, they think about cars, highways, people not using turn signals, and other little annoyances. However, what people should be thinking about is how to stay safe while driving.

Tom Hamilton, English teacher, explained his accident in October. He was waiting at the intersection of Hillside and Lake Street. He explained that he had been waiting to make a left turn, as there was a train passing. He started to turn, but the driver waiting behind the tracks started going and hit Hamilton, as he was mid-turn, hitting the driver’s side.

Hamilton’s advice for students and community members is “it’s easy to get distracted. We rush through things sometimes. But on the whole, I think most people do

take driving seriously, but this always bears repeating because when things like that happen, that should be avoidable.”

Matt Chor, senior, agreed with Hamilton’s advice by saying “I feel like there’s not enough emphasis put on how bad an accident actually is and how easily it can happen. [People] can never really grasp what a car can do to another person or another car until they’ve actually been through that. That’s not something you can teach in a classroom.”

Joe Paul, driver’s education instructor, pointed out that, “a lot of times, new driversare way more confident then they shouldbe, you know, because you’ve been driving around for one or two years doesn’t make you an expert.”

According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, car crashes are the leading cause of death in young adults between the ages of 15-29.