Breakdown

Breakdowns, Crashes, and Driver’s Ed, Oh My!

I felt like a voodoo doll was stabbing every car I was in during a two-week period this May. I don’t know that driver’s education saved my life in either case, but I do know that two times in the same week, I credit driver’s education with keeping me calm and safe. First my car had a water pump go out. I think. A mechanic told me that, and as a worshiper of certified mechanics, I believed. This happened fairly quickly and my car had to be pulled over to the side of the road of I-294. You might call this an expressway. I call it the death trap of exit 8. My car was losing power and Driver’s Ed taught me to turn on my hazards, pull over to the right, and open my hood. I got out on the passenger’s side to avoid the cars zooming at 80 miles an hour on my left. I had to wait for about an hour for a tow truck and all I had to look at was the sign saying “Exit 8” and the construction worker monument telling drivers to slow down for workers. To say that the memorial to a worker who was hit and killed at this spot added to my terror would not be an exaggeration.

Driver’s Ed taught me “Scott’s Law” where you should slow down and pull into a farther lane for disabled cars. I don’t drive the expressway much at all, but I do see how Scott’s Law would have saved the life of the anonymous construction worker I saw memorialized and would have lowered my heart rate by about 100 beats per minute. It seemed every licensed driver on 294 was on their phone during that lesson.

Drivers are so self-centered. I think I was, too before I had that break down. I just thought about where I was going. Did I have to change lanes, and why are people slowing down? Now I have patience and grace and a whole lot of room for people who are stuck on the side of the road. The vulnerability you have on the side of the road is something Driver’s Ed tried to teach us, but honestly I had to experience it to change my ways. If I wanted somebody to learn what I did from my breakdown, I think a livestream from somebody broken down on an expressway would share that feeling of helplessness and vulnerability. I would do it myself, but honestly, I think it is too dangerous!

The dead water pump filled my engine with water or some form of engine death and my dad bought a car to replace my old friend. Actually, I got the hand-me-down leftover from his car purchase. His “new” car we had for a week and this time I was a passenger in the car. A truck hauling a Jeep was in front of us, and that truck smashed HARD into the car in front of it. I think the driver was probably looking at his phone because we had zero time to react and I think the brake lights didn’t even turn on. Either way my dad stopped and we just had some hood damage from parts coming off of the truck in front of us. The driver got out of the car and was so upset. He hit his head on the windshield and had a little bit of blood coming out of his head. He seemed ok, but he was bleeding. He wasn’t worried about injuries. He was only worried about one thing. His job. He was almost in tears about how accidents would ruin his driving record and cost him his job. He went from sadness to quickly trying to blame us for hitting him into the front car. I was the one to call the police. A bit later, I was the one to call the ambulance. Driver’s Ed did teach me to appropriately ask for help.

What Driver’s Ed didn’t teach me was the chaos that follows an accident. The cops, the bystander, and the body shop agreed we weren’t responsible for the damage done to our car. Our insurance agent just told us it was our fault and to pay the deductible. I heard my parents talk about this for HOURS. We waited to talk to the adjuster (not an agent apparently) to set the fault correctly so somebody would pay for a rental car. We talked to a lawyer relative who said that adjusters can do their job as well or as poorly as they like! Accidents do happen, and thank God for insurance, but our family was without a car for over a month! I think I will be an even more defensive driver just to avoid accident headaches! It didn’t matter who was at fault. Justice is sometimes out of our hands.

I survived a fortnight of dangerous car situations, and what did Driver’s Ed teach me? Move to the side of the road and be as safe as possible. Stay away from disabled cars and SLOW DOWN. Call the police when you are in an accident. Remember to care about people first and vehicles second.

What do I wish Driver’s Ed taught me? Although terrifying, patience is necessary when your car breaks down. Don’t just take pictures of accidents, record some video. People in accidents lie! Most importantly, accidents are the most time-eating horrible messes you can have. Even if you aren’t hurt. You may not feel it, but being 5% safer will probably pay off 1000% compared to dealing with the aftermath of an accident. Driver’s Ed does a fine job of teaching us about how terrible driving will injure us forever, but they could teach us how irritating, terrible, aggravating, and stressful rectifying everything post-accident really is. Insurance companies help to make sure life goes on, but they don’t do it very quickly. I am thankful I have my health, but I am still a bit salty that two months later, I still don’t have a car back.