The 1 Seconds That Determined My Life

While sitting in the drivers ed classes it was just my teacher and I. Obviously we went over multiple times on the do’s and don’ts of driving. I’ve always had a constant fear of getting in a car accident for as long as I could remember. It’s never that I wouldn’t trust myself, I had control over what was going on. It was simply the factor of knowing that I don’t have control over if the other driver next to me cared as much and or was even paying attention to what was going around them.

On November 9th, 2023 I learned a very valuable lesson. Trust what you are doing including what you can control and stay strong in the moments you not just have to, you need to. From the start I had a very hard time choosing if I wanted to do Drivers Ed online or in person. I remember my mom scrolling through google and stating all the local companies and then said to me “Hey you remember Sam from 4-H? Her dad is an instructor! I’m sure he can get you in”. Sure enough I was signed up the next week sitting in the classes.

Anita, my classroom teacher, was amazing at explaining each and every situation that can happen on the roads and what to do. Such as driving through the night, snow, what exactly hydroplaning was, and so forth. Down to using little replicas of cars and stop signs. Eventually, I took the test and passed! She was so happy for me and promised we would see each other around. The following week I went on my first two hours of drive time. Dave, who I have known for years made me go through the roundabouts at least what felt like 45 times. He made sure I knew exactly everything I needed to know.

The following night, November 9th, 2023, was going to be our night of drive time on the highway. He had picked me up later due to the fact I had cheer pictures at 7pm that night. Right after the pictures he was on his way to my house. I remember saying to my mom, “I’m not sure If I wanna go, I hate driving at night” she looked at me as always, “Brooklyn You’re going to be okay this is how you learn!”. After my mom had reassured me I was all ready and buckled in. We decided to take I-75 up to Bowling Green, a local city near us, then make our way back home. While on our way Dave and I shared constant memories of 4-H and when me and his daughter Sam had shown together, to how long he knew my parents for, and past stories of some of his students. It was time to make our way back home. I looked over at the clock on the dash, 10:41pm. My parents were waiting and they knew I was on my way home. I look over, mile marker, I take note of the number due to Anita teaching me that if something would ever happen on the interstate you can tell the police what mile marker you are at so they can get to you faster. After some more small talk I look over at Dave and we begin talking about the local sports and what teams were winning. I turned to look in my driver side mirror and a large white semi was approaching. I said “what is he…” BANG!

The car began to spin uncontrollably and the only thing my mind could replay was Anita saying “If a car crash happens, keep your arms relaxed, If you tense up you can break them”. The semi rear ended me going 70mph in the middle lane of the highway. As soon as the car came to a halt hitting the guard rail in the center of the median I looked down at my feet and hands. Clenching my fingers to make sure I was alright. I looked over at Dave and gave the biggest hug I could give, assuring he was okay. We began to make sure each other was okay and called EMS. My phone that had gotten lost throughout the car said in the voice “Crash detection detected, 5 seconds will go and EMS will be called” caused from when I had put the app “Life 360” on my phone so my parents could always see where I was. I turned off the notification due to Dave already being on the phone. Not a single person out of 100 that drove past in the span stopped and made sure we were okay. Then to make matters worse, the semi was a hit and run accident.

Still to this day I have no idea why exactly the semi driver didn’t care enough about a young person obviously in a Drivers Ed car. Driver’s education is important because it’s what saved my LIFE. One out of the hundreds driving on the exact same highway I was that night. The constant of “keep your arms relaxed, make sure you know where you are, pay attention”. The semi driver I can’t speak for, but one thing I for sure am glad for is even though someone didn’t stop to make sure we were okay, I can constantly preach to my peers on how important it is to know and pay attention to drivers ed. Do not complain about that Life 360 app. Including, the answer to every situation is knowledge. You have to know exactly what you’re doing everytime you turn on that ignition. You have people’s babies, parents, grandparents around you going at a high speed in a metal box. It takes one second, one mistake, to take one or more lives while in the driver’s seat. Be knowledgeable and mindful every second of your driving; this can SAVE the deaths related to driving. My knowledge and experience will stay with me forever. But if one horrible thing had to happen to me to preach countless opportunities to my peers on how important safe driving is, to me it’s worth it.