What a Motorcycle Taught me

On Tuesday, October 17, around 12:45 PM, I collided with a motorcyclist. I was driving a car—my blue Fiat 500 Pop.

(It was not my fault.)

I’ve told this story about a billion times, whether it be to the insurance company or to friends and family. It was a clear, sunny day. I was on my way to my college class when I pulled up to an intersection in the right lane; the light was red. I waited, and waited, until it turned green. As per usual, I took off. The car in the left lane appeared to be taking off as well.

However, unlike usual, I was met with a motorcycle to the front of my car. They had been turning left from their side (so, to the right for me). She sprawled across the ground. Immediately, I freaked out. There is nothing like the sound of a human—a real, breathing human—hitting the front of one’s car, especially knowing they might be seriously injured. It’s terrifying. Tons of thoughts crossed my mind. What if she’s hurt? What if she’s dead? Did I do something wrong?

Traffic kept going around me, so I pulled off to the side of the road. I was sobbing. I hopped out of my car and surveyed the damage. My right front bumper was wrecked, but luckily there was no other injury to the vehicle. That wasn’t the only lucky thing about this (unlucky) incident, however—while I was stopped at the intersection, a policeman had pulled up behind me. He had caught the whole incident—not just from a witness perspective, but a dashcam one (which is incredibly lucky, because I do not own one myself). The motorcyclist wasn’t injured, which was fortunate as well.

I didn’t end up going to class that day.

Despite the fact that I was not at fault in this incident (the motorcyclist had, in fact, run a red light), I learned a lot as a driver from the experience. For one, carefully checking intersections and their surroundings has become extremely important to me. There’s definitely a difference between glancing around and actively looking. I would also leave my car where it was next time, instead of pulling off. Although I only had safety in mind, the police officer thought I had driven off, when in reality I was only across the road. Dealing with insurance was another lesson in and of itself, of course. These are all super important things that every driver should be aware and actively thinking of—it shouldn’t take getting into an accident to learn it.

And that’s where Driver’s Education comes in. Driver’s Education is extremely important in educating future drivers. I remember being so terrified of driving when I was younger, and Driver’s Ed made me feel much more comfortable, knowledgeable, and ready to drive. My Driver’s Education was great, despite the fact that I had to take it online (due to COVID-19, of course). My instructor made in-depth videos, tests, and had us join an online call every day to ensure that we were learning what we needed to. Then, when I had to do my instructed driving, he was very relaxed (not stressed, like my parents always were—I’m sure a number of students can relate!) and made driving feel easy. By the time I was on the road, I had no more worries about driving.

Fortunately, I don’t believe the learning gap stems in any way from Driver’s Ed itself. Rather, it exists mainly as a result of other, unregulated (or “gray”) periods. For example, during COVID-19, a number of teenagers (including myself) were not required to take a driver’s test in order to get our licenses. We were simply entrusted with the responsibility of a license. Luckily, I had a good Driver’s Ed instructor, and my parents made sure that I completed all of my hours needed for my license—but not everybody had the same thing, and I see people (sometimes my friends, even) driving extremely irresponsibly almost every day, sometimes without even realizing they’re driving irresponsibly. COVID-19 was a weird circumstance, certainly, but these tests remain in place for a reason, and I’m especially glad the DMV has brought them back since then.

While it can be easy to blame the system, though, sometimes the gap is just within ourselves. I always took driving seriously before the accident, but getting into one made me seriously reevaluate my safe driving practices. In an age of phones and distracting technology, t’s necessary for everyone—teenager, adult, elder—to be safe and actively aware of everything on the road. That’s why I share my story: to, hopefully, remind everyone that vehicles are always dangerous and have the potential to seriously injure or kill someone—whether it’s your fault, or not.