Watch Out!

“Watch out!” I yelled to my mom, but it was too late. She rear-ended the car in front of her. Her and the other car pulled to the shoulder and exchanged insurance information. This was my first experience in a car accident. I was 19 years old.

I was really eager to get my permit. I relied on my parents to get me to my activities and tended to be late most days. If only I could drive. So, When I turned 14 and a half, I signed up for driver’s ed. I was so excited that in 6 months I would be behind the wheel. How I was going to love the freedom associated with driving. However as soon as I sat through my first driver’s ed class, all my eagerness disappeared. My first class was about road rage. The class focused on the dangers of driving. That was the first time I saw driving as something that could hurt someone if done incorrectly. The one video that stuck out to me was one shown in the road rage class. Someone acted irresponsibly, didn’t use the car properly, and it resulted in the person hitting a motorcyclist, killing them instantly. That was when I saw a car as a weapon, and it terrified me. I would be lying if I said that driver’s ed reduced my eagerness to drive, but I was more attuned to the seriousness of driving. It was a privilege and if I messed up while in that vehicle, I could seriously hurt someone. Drivers’s ed really opened my eyes to the reality of driving. It’s not always glamorous and it should not be taken lightly. Driver’s ed highlighted the dangers of driving and how you are driving something that could be used as a weapon. This analogy helped me understand that I was responsible on the road and had to be hyper aware. This was a vital step in how drivers are taught to be careful on the road. I know that video helped me become a cautious driver when I first started my permit driving.

After I passed my driver’s test with flying colors, I started getting cocky. I had been driving for a year now. I felt comfortable behind the wheel and the lessons I learned in driver’s ed slowly faded. I was still cautious at times. I checked my blind spots, looked for pedestrians, and followed the rules of the road. However, now I had music playing, took sips of my water, and ate food. I would also drive with my mom to work, and she would dictate her messages and look at her phone to correct them. As I got older, I recognized how dangerous these actions really were. So I offered my mom help. I would type out my mom’s messages. When I wasn’t in the car, I knew my mom would be looking at her phone and sending work related messages. She’s a lawyer and sometimes the messages are time sensitive. We also live in a fast-paced society, and I think this too affects our driving. Always in a hurry and often times doing too much at once. I know I am guilty of this. I know friends who are guilty of this, and I know family members who are guilty of this. Yet rushing and distractions are the things that lead to accidents. It was driver’s ed 101; you are driving a weapon so be cautious. I didn’t know it at the time, but I would see this firsthand during my mom’s first and only car crash.

My mom and I were driving to an amusement park late on a summer day after work. My siblings were already there, but they wanted to do a water day, so we were tasked with bringing swimsuits. It was a 20-minute drive, but today there was a little bit more traffic than usual. I was telling my mom about my day at work and how I needed to finish up this one task for her. As we were having our conversation, she receives a text from my brother, “When are you guys going to get here? Addie really wants to go on the water slides” My mom goes to pick up her phone as she exits the freeway, getting ready to tell my brother we are about 10 minutes away when I see the cars in front of us are stopped. We were coming around the bend too quickly and were too close to the car in front of us “Watch out” I yelled to my mother, but it was too late. We rear end the minivan in front of us. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?” I nod but I was unsure what to do and so was my mom. When it was safe, we got out of the car and exchanged information with the other car. I then text the family that we were okay, but we were involved in a car accident. My mom called the police, and they sent someone to help us. From that moment everything was a blur. There were questions being asked and I was talking to so many different people about what happened. For the first time in real life, I saw what a car could truly do. The entire front end of my mom’s car was smashed, it was totaled, I thought. This was the last time that car was driven.

There were lots of things I could’ve done differently the day my mom totaled her car. I should’ve taken her phone and texted my brother myself. I should’ve watched the traffic and seen that it was slowing down. I shouldn’t have been talking to my mom about random stuff and let her focus on driving because when you are behind the wheel 100% of your focus should be on the road. That text message could’ve waited 5 minutes, but in the heat of the moment it had to be sent then. Now whenever I’m in the car I don’t let the driver ever touch their phones. I also encourage my siblings to help my parents when they are in the passenger seat. I’ve expressed how dangerous distractions are and what can happen when someone is distracted. I’ve seen it first-hand. Now I’m a strong advocate for distracted free driving. When I’m the driver I set up my phone to have everything I need before I put the car in drive. I don’t ever touch my phone unless I need to and even then, most times a response can wait 10 minutes. My life is worth more than a measly text message.