The Crash Chronicles

Right now, I am a seventeen year old girl in highschool. In the past year, I have been in two car accidents. Two different situations with ironically similar outcomes.

Growing up, I always wanted to drive. Driving to me represented freedom. The ability to go where I wanted to, when I wanted to. It meant that I no longer had to rely on my parents to get me from place to place. In my head, I was completely free. Invincible to any harm. In more ways than one, my first car accident was a major reality check for me.

I got my license on the second day of September in the year of 2022. In that same year, on the day after my seventeenth birthday, I got into my first car accident. In the months leading up to my first accident, I begged my parents to let me drive myself to school. My parents were extremely hesitant having heard about how common it is for students to get into car accidents in parking lots, and roads surrounding a school. Their worries were not misplaced. After a lot of begging, my parents finally let me start driving myself to school.

The morning leading up to the car accident was completely normal. As usual, I was reveling in the fact that I could drive; playing my music as loud as I wanted to. I went through my school day as I usually would. At the end of the day, I got in my car and started driving off. As I drove, my speed accelerated quickly. I was heading towards a red light and in my ignorance, I assumed it would turn green before I had to stop, so I continued on. When I went to brake, my brakes weren’t braking as fast as I needed them to and I collided with the car in front of me. BANG! At that moment, I honestly had no idea what to do. I completely froze. I was in complete and utter shock. I truly believe that this car accident brought me back down to earth. Down from the cloud I convinced myself I was on. Luckily, neither I, nor the girl in the car I hit, sustained any serious physical injuries.

The fallout of the car accident was the hardest part. When I got home, I sat in my car and cried. I was still in shock from the reality of the situation. After I had settled, I texted the girl I had been in an accident with and apologized profusely. To my surprise, she showed me grace. She showed me such an immense amount of unearned kindness. Although the results weren’t as bad as they could’ve been, I personally felt like I had lost a great deal of trust and confidence in myself. I didn’t get in the driver seat again for over a month.

After getting back in the driver’s seat, I decided that my accident would not be an anchor. I refused to allow my fears to hold me down, so I decided that I would use my accident as a driving point to push me towards becoming a better driver. I continued to remind myself that although the results from the accident were not colosale, they very well could’ve been.

At the start of my senior year of highschool, on the eighth day of September, I got into my second car accident. Different cars, different years, different schools, but oddly similar outcomes. Except this time, my car was the one being hit.

After school finished, I got in my car and prepared myself to leave. I was stopped at a red light when a girl drove her car into the back of mine. Similarly to my first time around, neither I, nor the girl that hit my car, had any serious injuries. Like me, the girl was immediately extremely apologetic. In that moment, I saw myself in her. I remembered how I felt in that situation and showed her the same kindness that the other girl showed me. I hope that like me, that girl used the car accident to change her life around.

Car accidents in high school parking lots and in the roads surrounding a high school are extremely common. Everyday, I see a situation like mine happen. I used my car accident as a driving point in my life in order to get better. To do my part to make something as dangerous as driving, as safe as possible. I tell my story to shed light on the amount of unsafe driving that happens in high school and to encourage safe driving among my peers. I hope that others can learn this lesson without having to get into an accident of their own. I view my accidents as extremely difficult situations in my life, but it is because of them that I am who I am today.