A Painful Lesson

I was always a safe driver with zero accidents and speeding records in my file. However, I was too young and not brave enough to tell others to be cautious of driving until I found me and my girlfriend in the hospital with my broken right thumb two years ago. We were in the back of the passenger seats and on the way to join the star watching up the mountain. My friend was driving and he was driving an SUV. He thought he was cool and he tried to drift on the road to the mountain. We tried to tell him it was too fast in a polite way since I have never been in a car accident before and I thought no one would use their life as a gamble. A light flashed through my eyes all of a sudden and I found myself looking at the side of the mountain. The vehicle flipped twice, and smoke came out from the car. I was in the bottom of the car, looking at my girlfriend, she had a serious injury on her spine and could not get out of the car. I felt something was hurting my palm but I needed to get out of the car. Luckily, a car passed by and the man came out and gave us a hand. I came out first, sitting on the side of the road. I was feeling very dizzy and I barely saw my girlfriend coming out and sitting in the car. I started to feel vomiting and realized my hand was covered in blood and I could not move my thumb. After around 5 minutes, I walked to my girlfriend and found out she could not turn her neck. It was up the mountain and there was no sign to call for help. We were depressed and it was really lucky that the man went down and called 911 for us.

The ambulance ride was in pain and worry. I tried to comfort my girlfriend, assuring her everything would be okay. The doctor will do the work until I lay down on the hospital’s bed for 8 hours. My hand would hurt whenever I fell asleep so I had to wake myself up. On the other hand, my girlfriend was sitting on the bed all night and they sent her home after a few hours. I felt relieved after knowing that she was ok and I just wanted to get that over with. My surgery came next. We hugged and cried when I saw her at home. After the time flew by, my thumb could not heal and I had to do more surgeries with a hand specialist. What came with it was the medical bill. I was a college student and it was overwhelming looking at a $50,000 dollars bill. Thank God for the California medical or I would still be drowning in debt. Now my thumb is in 50% mobility and I am still trying to find a doctor to do better with this.

This personal experience tells that driver education is not just about getting a driver’s license. It is very important to educate drivers with road safety. It should not be easy to get a license and it will cause big trouble. It is all about understanding the real, life-altering consequences of reckless behavior behind the wheel. This lesson is painful and here is what I have learned.

1. Speak up: If someone is driving recklessly, say it loud. Your life and the lives of others are more important than politeness or avoiding awkward situations especially when you feel unsafe.

2. Passenger responsibility: As a passenger, we have duties to promote safe driving and don’t encourage risky behavior.

3. Always be prepared: It is not fun to turn a fun night into a nightmare. Always be prepared for dangerous situations.

4. Long-term consequences: Crashing doesn’t end when we leave the hospital. There is physical therapy, medical bills, and emotional trauma that can last forever. Avoid dangerous behavior.

5. Good Samaritans matter: If you see an accident, stop and help. I know how depressing it is and it could really save a life.

To reduce unnecessary deaths from driving, here is what we need to approach:

1. Teach others about the real consequences of reckless driving through survivor stories and hospital visits.

2. Encourage others to call out dangerous driving.

3. Always have better lighting, clearer signage and minimize the damage when something happens.

4. Get in the car that you truly trust that person with a good driving record.

5. Provide resources for accident survivors to deal with emotions after a crash.

My thumb and life have never been the same. I still struggle with simple tasks and school work. But if this story can save even one person from going through what I did, I would still share it. Remember, there is life and responsibilities behind the wheel and there is life around you. Drive better, matters.