It’s bright, before it’s dark

In Alaska during winter, the daylight fades out quickly. Turning the well lit roads into dangerous paths. Driving down the dark neighborhood to only be blinded by the brand new truck’s “normal” setting of LED lights. Straining your sight and blinding you from the icy road. Having to slow down your vehicle in hopes you’ll be able to see soon. Causing the cars behind to hope their breaks work on the icy road to avoid any kind of accident.
New driver’s may not have the skills in tricky situations like this unless they’ve taken lessons in Driver’s Ed. Not saying parents aren’t good teachers about driving, but there are still new driver’s that need that extra help. Teaching them the rules of the road without getting nervous of their parents getting mad or nervous. This is also how to teach proper driving habits of turning off your brights when passing a car, turning signals, and knowing how to avoid accidents in the area you may live in.
Having more knowledge on how to drive safely will help less accidents to happen. Accidents can be fatal with the lack of knowledge or skill when driving. There are many things that could create that problem to happen. Weather causing unsafe roads, improper safety items on the car, substances that cause drowsiness, a driver with no experience driving without an experienced driver are all causes of dangerous or fatal accidents.
I’ve experienced close calls, but never gotten into an accident. Though back in 2024, It was the last day of school. My mom is a para at a local school and my younger brother walked over from the highschool that was right next door. They headed to the car and began the route home. The school is only a couple minutes away from our house. I was at home, filling out my online requirements for my college. I suddenly hear my phone ringing and it’s my little brother.
Brother: Hey
Me: What?

Brother: Are you home?

Me: Yeah, why?

Brother: We got in an accident.

When he said that, I thought he was joking. Thinking he was just saying that because our mom was taking too long to get to the car.

Me: Oh, ha ha, What’s really happening?

Brother: No really. We just got hit by another car. Mom says you need to get here.
My heart sank. It hit me hard, I got up so quickly and grabbed my things. Forgetting to put the dog in her kennel. My hair was a mess.
I drove as safely as I could as my heart felt like it was ramming out of my chest. I stayed on the phone with my little brother to make sure he was in a safe area and that our mother was okay. Once I showed up, I saw the cars had been pushed off the road. The one side was where my mom and brother were standing by my mom’s new car. The other side was the other car and the lady who had run the red light, hitting into the front of my mother’s car. I had pulled over onto the school road and parked slightly off the side while putting my hazard lights on. Right away, my brother runs and jumps into the front seat. His pupils are wide and he’s nerve racked. Luckily he wasn’t harmed, just in shock from the airbags. My mom was overwhelmed as well, but she got a chemical burn from the powder that came out of the airbags. I stayed put with the car as my mom and brother brought the things from the ruined car into mine. My heart was still racing, but it settled a bit knowing both of them were okay. After the cars were taken away, my mom got into my car and told me what happened.
Mom: I was waiting at the light, talking with your brother and my coffee cup in my hand. It soon turned green, so I started to go since there was no one on the other side to stop me from going left. As I was going, I looked to my left to see a car coming. I thought it was gonna slow down, but oh boy was I wrong. I felt that rush of adrenaline, but didn’t know what to do. Then it happened, she hit the front wheel right in front of the driver side. You know how I said I was going left?

Me: Yeah?
Mom: When she hit me, I went from turning left to completely be turned to the right. I looked straight.
Me: Geez, well, What did the cop say about all this?

My mother let out a grumble and shook her head
Mom: He told me she looked shaken up and confused, but he didn’t want to give her a ticket because she was already having a rough day.
Me: Wha- they can’t do that. She ran a red light, she almost injured you both.
Mom: I know, but it’s not up to me
I was frustrated. Though I couldn’t do anything because I wasn’t there. The unsafe driver who turned out not to have a license almost injured my mom and brother because she didn’t have the proper training or education on how to drive.
I took Driver’s Ed to make sure I knew how to drive safely before driving alone. Before I go through green lights, I make sure to look both ways just in case someone is cocky enough to risk it. Preparing myself to stop when I see the car in front of me slowing down, also making sure my headlights are up to date so they don’t burn out when I’m driving.