The Least Normal Thursday

September 26, 2024 was supposed to be a normal Thursday. Besides the fact that I had my AP Chemistry semester exam that day, that day was just another Thursday. I had gotten ready for the day, drove to school, gone to class, ate lunch, and did everything I usually do; a textbook exam day. However, things would quickly change. What I didn’t account for was that the night before that I spent studying for my exam would end up haunting me till this day.

Black. For around three seconds everything went black. Ringing. That sound lingered in my ears for days. Shaky. That feeling wouldn’t leave my hands, my legs, my entire body. Pounding. Neither my heart nor my head could escape this pulsating, painful feeling.

My school is around 40 minutes from my house, and I had driven home that day. Due to my late night before this, I felt drowsy on the way home, so I made sure to turn up my music and sip some water to stay alert. I thought that this feeling was no big deal and that I could get home easily, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. That’s when it happened. For a second, all I could see was the back of an SUV, then all I could see was my airbags, my shattered windshield, and the wrong part of the road. I had fallen asleep and slammed into the back of a stalled car. By the time I woke up, it was too late to brake or swerve; I just had to accept the consequences of my actions. I stepped out of my car, dazed from the impact and having to force my door open. At that moment, after seeing the wreckage, my mind went blank and everything went quiet. I had done this. I had totalled my car. I had forever scarred those little girls in the other car. I had become a monster that didn’t deserve help or love. “Don’t come any closer!”, the man driving the other car had shouted at me when I approached to apologize. It’s only natural for humans to cast away monsters. “Driving is a privilege and should not be taken for granted.”, the police officer lectured me. It’s only natural for monsters to have less privileges than humans.

Luckily, no one was severely injured or killed, but a part of me had died. In the days following the accident, I isolated myself and pushed people away. I felt as though I didn’t deserve any help or love. I also waited in fear, knowing that these people would sue me. In the following days, I felt extremely depressed and angry at myself. In the following weeks I stewed in fear of paranoia of going back out on the road. In the following months I felt the impact of the increase in my car insurance payment. It hasn’t been until recently that I have come to terms with the accident and realized that I can use my experience to educate others.

I believe that everybody, especially students and those with jobs that require extremely early or late shifts, should know about the risks of drowsy driving. While not as talked about as driving under the influence, we lose just about as much cognitive ability driving drowsy. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2017, approximately 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers, leading to an estimated 50,000 injuries and nearly 800 deaths. Knowing this, we can see that this is an important part of driver’s education that should not be taken lightly. For context, my accident happened roughly 5 minutes from my house, all because I believed I could “tough it out” and make it home safely. By bringing light to this issue by not making it seem like a less-than-important issue, we can increase the number of students, parents, spouses, and children that come home safely. By already having this warning included in driver’s education today, we can hopefully ensure that there will be a decrease in the amount of accidents caused by drowsy drivers.

However, there are steps that individual drivers can take if they find themselves feeling drowsy while out on the road. While many think that coffee or energy drinks may help them stay awake, they are sadly mistaken. I too made this mistake. I had drank a Bang energy drink, which has 300 milligrams of caffeine, towards the end of the day in the hopes that the caffeine would help keep me awake. Unfortunately, I did not know that even if you drink a caffeinated beverage while severely sleep-deprived, you can still experience “microsleeps”—brief moments of unconsciousness lasting four to five seconds. At a speed of 55 miles per hour, this means you could travel over 100 yards while asleep—more than enough distance to cause a crash. Instead, we can make sure that we are well rested before we know that we are going to have to drive a long distance. But, if we are not able to do so, we can talk small breaks at rest stops or pull over to a safe place to regain or focus or take a quick power nap. Another way to prevent drowsy driving is to call someone that you can have a conversation with while you drive. This will help to keep your brain stimulated and will keep you alert if the person on the other end detects that you are dozing off. Of course, there is the option to not go out on the road at all. If you’re feeling extremely tired and you feel the need to drive somewhere, consider the importance of the place where you are going and decide if your health and the safety of others is more important; the answer should be clear. This is extremely important for teens and parents. Parents, teens need more sleep than usual during that part of their life. If they are not getting enough sleep and need to go out somewhere on the road, consider giving them a ride. While it may be inconvenient, it will aid in the safety of your child and the safety of others.

I can confidently say that now I have learned the importance of sleep. I now factor in how I am feeling before I start to drive. While it may have taken a traumatic experience to do so, I can say that I am now more safe than ever before. I hope that by sending out this essay I am able to share my story so that others may learn from my mistakes and remain safe out on the road. I hope this message not only finds fellow students, but parents, late-night workers, those taking driver’s education courses, and anyone else who is out on the road so that they can be informed on a matter that can change somebody’s life.