Experiences of Car Accidents

Car accidents, whether the person is at fault for it or not, is always a terrible thing to happen to anyone. My family has some experience with car accidents and repairs, thanks to living in a big city with a sincerely ludicrous amount of traffic. First things first, I come from a family of mostly responsible people, and I myself have only really had one issue with a car that could be counted as an accident. What happened was that I had overcorrected a turn while leaving my school’s parking lot and put another car’s bumper below one of my car’s hub caps (the little space where the wheel goes). It caused minimal damage to both cars, but I required some help from the principal to separate the entangled cars. This was not as serious as most vehicular accidents can be, but it still was a very stressful ordeal.

Secondly, accidents can happen anytime, regardless of how you may have been behaving on the road. It’s an unfortunate event, bad for both parties and most times incredibly expensive. My dad has had his fair share of car accidents, some of which he had the perpetrator of himself. One of such stories he tells me is the one where he had to go to the hospital to get stitches. He was driving very fast in his car when he lost control and crashed into a tree, causing my dad’s head to plunge into the car’s window. This caused multiple big lacerations on his head, and he had to get stitches in order to fix it. This was very worrisome for his family, who would only receive the news when he was admitted to the hospital. Beyond that, his sister who was there with him was mostly fine. However, the car had been completely totaled, and there was no saving it. Another time, I was with him when a speeding car almost crashed into us. We were at a four-way intersection, ready to cross when a speeding car ran into the intersection and turned left. It almost hit us, but was still quite a scare for both of us. My mom, on the other hand, has people crash into her most of the time. I was there for one of these, and so was my grandma. My mom was at an intersection, turning left on a street next to a motorcyclist, he began speeding up to overtake us and ended up crashing onto us. The cyclist was fine and so were we, there was a big dent on the car and the motorcycle was almost totaled. Both vehicles were repaired in the end. We called the cops, and asked if the motorcyclist had any injuries, then we went to the local police station to file the accident. Although crashing is not uncommon, it is something that is best avoided by being a careful driver.

Lastly, one of the best and simplest ways to avoid car accidents is to know and obey the traffic rules in your country or state, sometimes being aware of certain rules can be very helpful in the event of a car accident. Speeding, running through red lights, weaving through lanes, and other such behaviors can put the driver at risk of a car crash. Knowing how to maneuver is also very important, after all, no one can have a driver’s license without knowing how to maneuver through obstacles first. Also, knowing and being comfortable with the vehicle is also important to prevent accidents on behalf of car malfunctions. It is easier to detect certain problems on a car someone has owned for several years instead of a new or unfamiliar one, such as a braking system failure. If the car begins to act strange, such as making a weird noise when turning or braking, it should be checked out as soon as possible to minimize the chances of a malfunction that could lead to an accident. Another simple behavior to avoid when driving is to not drive while under the influence of alcohol and other such substances. These items are known as psychoactive substances, which can drastically alter how a person feels and acts. This causes a much higher risk of being in a very serious car accident.

In all, car accidents are mostly just that, accidents. A lot of people have been in them or have witnessed them, and cars are still a popular mode of transportation. However, there are many ways to protect yourself from being in one.