Anything Can Happen, Anything Is Possible

With learning how to operate a vehicle comes responsibility and reliability. Once a person learns how to drive, not only are they responsible for themselves in the case of an accident, but they are also reliable if they cause an accident involving someone else. Driving a car is more than just driving around for fun with friends, it can be dangerous. I learned this lesson the hard way when I crashed my car in February of 2023.

Although I was not foolishly having fun behind the wheel with my friends, I still should have been more cautious when I was driving. It was the morning of February 27th, and it had been profusely raining the night before which then continued that morning. I was taking the bypass on my way to school that morning as it lightly rained. When I got to a certain section on the bypass, there was a deep puddle of water covering almost the entire lane, due to the buildup of rain and a lack of a drain. I was passing a semi truck on the left side, because I was uncomfortable driving behind it due to the drift coming off of the truck, when I came upon the puddle. It was too late for me to react in time, so I ended up hydroplaning and lost control of my car. The spot of the puddle was right before a bridge that I would go under, so when my car spun, almost 360 degrees, the back end of my car slid across both lanes to the right side and hit the wall under the bridge. Next thing I knew, I was covering my head as I was being spun in the opposite direction back across both lanes and the front end of my car hit the wall slightly after going under the bridge. I came to a stop there, but then my car was perpendicular to the road, leaving me vulnerable to being stuck by oncoming traffic. Although I was the only one involved in the accident and managed to make it out with just a few bruises, there was still a lesson to be learned.

By receiving driver’s education, a person will have more knowledge on how to properly operate a car, learn defensive driving, the rules of the road, and safety while driving on the roads. Someone who does not go through driver’s education is more at risk to themselves and others. Although it is safest for drivers to go through driver’s education, it does not completely protect them from being in an accident. Learning how to operate a car and learn the rules to driving is important, but driving with other cars on the road as well as knowing how to handle unexpected situations is just as important. I believe that having a proper education as well as actual driving practice with real life scenarios is the best way for a new driver to be prepared and feel comfortable behind the wheel. I believe that all of these factors will protect all drivers from accident-related deaths.

A major skill that I had to learn when I started driving was defensive driving. This meant that I had to not only be aware of my own driving, but focus more on the drivers around me and the possibility that they may cause an accident around me. There is always a risk of being in an accident when driving, but no one can control how other people drive, which is why it is important to pay attention to others around you to ensure your own safety on the road.

Although I managed to come out from my accident unharmed, there are many people who are not as fortunate. The accident I was in was my fault and did not harm any others on the road, however, there have been cases where a driver’s accident has caused harm to other innocent drivers on the road. The main takeaway is for new drivers to fully understand the risk they are taking when getting behind a wheel everyday and that they need to be aware of their surroundings at all times as well as the other drivers that they are sharing the road with. Becoming knowledgeable about all aspects of driving will hopefully start to decrease the number of accident-related deaths, which right now is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States in people ages 5-29.