Eyes (Open) on the Road!

Oh No! I did not even know what happened until it was over. When I was around 11 or 12 years old, my mother and I were in a car accident on the road. It was a Saturday afternoon and we were on our way home from a Girl Scouts event held in Washington, DC. I was sitting in the front seat next to my mother looking out the window and daydreaming. I was not paying attention to anything and apparently neither was my mother. I was snapped out of my daze by my mother’s scream. Next thing I know, there was a Crash! Then, we were pulled over behind a bright blue car. My mother was turning through an intersection, but she was looking in the opposite direction. She turned too far, drove too fast, and swerved as she tried to regain control, hitting the corner of another woman’s car. The lady we had hit was very nice and calm about it. She was also driving around with her child, he seemed just as confused as I was. My mother’s car was a little damaged and her wrist was a little sore from the quick swerve, but nothing serious. I exchanged looks with the other kid. Both of us just looked like, “Did that just happen?” I had frozen up as we were swerving because I knew it could have gotten bad from that point on and I was still a bit dazed when we pulled over. However, the woman and my mother exchanged insurance information and we continued home. My mother and I got lucky. We were in a small intersection with cars in motion and stopped all around as well as cars parked along the side of the streets. We could have easily been seriously injured or caused incredible injury or damage to one of the surrounding vehicles or pedestrians. My mother was not paying attention to the road or where she was going and a car accident resulted.

In another instance, my father was driving home from work and fell asleep at the wheel. He woke up in time to stop his car just inches from the ditch alongside the road. No other cars were involved. I was not present when it happened, but he told us all about it when he arrived home, unharmed. He blames the car accident on “getting old.”

Distracted Driving. Distracted driving is the number one cause of car accidents. Nowadays, with technology, social media, and current events, there is a lot to think about and plenty of distractions. I think emphasizing the importance of attentiveness and the potential consequences of unsafe driving would help reduce the number of driving-related deaths. I think people are a little desensitized; the world has a lot going on right now and the value of human life in people’s minds has cheapened. A car accident can be expensive, and while a car can be replaced and injuries can heal, a human life cannot be restored once lost. Accidents happen, but we as human beings should do our best to protect the lives of others from our own recklessness.

I am a Maryland teenager who just tested for a non-commercial learner’s permit. Now that I can legally learn and practice driving, I am also required by law to take and pass a Driver’s Education class. Driver’s Education classes teach the importance of being attentive and the cost recklessness can have. In Driver’s Education classes, one can learn how to keep themselves and others safe; you are limited if an instructor finds that you are not ready. Driver’s Education also protects drivers by apprehending potential reckless drivers. And the best part is, a new driver can try again and again until they are responsible and/or comfortable enough to take to the road. Personally, I have not yet taken any Driver’s Education classes, but I still practice driving skills with my father present. I struggle to stay focused on the road. My eyes get tired, I get sleepy, I let the car drift, or I blank out after a few seconds without any significant change to my driving. That is not good! I eat a lot of sweets throughout the day and stay up late, which causes me to crash after school when it is time for me to drive. It is the most likely reason I get so tired when I am driving. I am now discovering that I need to manage my sleep and overall health better so that I can drive without tiring so quickly and putting myself and others in danger. Practice on the road will also help me get accustomed to driving for 30+ minutes at a time. I am controlling a two-ton vehicle on a path covered by other two-ton vehicles and it is integral that we all are educated enough to safely get from Point A to Point B.