Keep your eyes on the road

The day began like any other and ended like no other. My mom and I had both woken up early and decided to run a few errands before my siblings woke up. After running to a few places, we chose to stop at one last store before returning home. “Cheap Thrills” by Sia is playing on the radio. As I hum along to the song, I stare mindlessly out the window. I turn to look out of the front window as the car turning left before us randomly stops in the middle of the intersection. In a split second, my mom braked very hard, but there was not enough time to stop us from colliding into the car.

I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I open my eyes. There is smoke everywhere. We have to get out of the car. I kick the door frantically, expecting it to open. I look over, and I see my mom. She tells me we have to get out. A man opens my door. There are people standing outside of the car. “Are you okay?” He asks “Hang on, I’ll get you some ice.” The man who helped me out of the car leaves and quickly runs back from the 711 across the street and hands me a bag of ice. “Here, for your face.” There is so much going on. My mom is talking to the woman we hit and she is yelling at my mom. My right eye is blurry, but why would I need ice? “Thank you,” I say. I’m so tired. My stomach and face burn. There are so many people. Mom, I’m so sorry. If I didn’t want to go to the store, this wouldn’t have happened.

This is all my fault.

In December of 2017, my mom and I got into a car accident not too far away from our house. I was 10 years old at the time, and I was in the front seat. I had previously asked my mom if she could take me to the Dollar Tree so I could spend my money. A car was turning left in front of us while we were going straight. The woman driving had suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, and my mom didn’t have enough time to stop the car. The loud screeching of metal and the feeling of burning from the cuts on my face and abdomen will always be imprinted in my mind. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days, and weeks after I was discharged, I couldn’t sleep due to the vivid dreams of that moment recurring over and over again.

Safe driving is so incredibly important, and without it, it could lead to lives lost, even your own. Getting into a pretty serious car accident where the car was totaled will always be in the back of my mind when I’m a passenger, as well as when I am learning to drive myself. I have obtained my driver’s permit, and now I am learning to drive at 16 years old.

With unintentional injury being the leading cause of death in teenagers in 2006 and motor injury being the highest cause, I want to be very intentional in how I learn to drive as well as being aware of my surroundings, regardless if I am a passenger or the driver myself. I think that if every single driver took precaution when driving, a lot of deaths resulting from car accidents could be very well prevented. These steps could be as mindless as buckling your seat belt every time you get into a car, or they could be as paramount as having a designated driver when going to drink.

Steps that can be taken in order to reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving could be requiring more preparation for learning drivers. This could include more hours of driving required before earning your license. Other steps could include making sure that you are in the right mindset. No one should be driving under the influence legally, but no one should be driving when feeling strong emotions. We might say things we don’t mean when we are extremely angry or sad that we regret later on, but controlling a motor vehicle is another situation altogether. It’s important to be aware of your surroundings in a car, whether you’re the passenger or the driver.

With the boom of technology, texting and driving are much more common. Some phones even have the ability to go into driving mode to prevent you from getting distracted. Although in the moment it might feel dire to answer a quick text or make a phone call, all it takes is a look down to change or take your life forever. Furthermore, teaching new drivers the basics of ultimate safe driving is the most beneficial thing to do when trying to reduce deaths as a result of driving. This is so incredibly important because good habits will be built in new drivers, which they won’t easily be able to drop in the long run. Vice versa, if experienced drivers have been practicing unsafe driving for a long period of time, it’ll be harder for them to establish new habits for the betterment of humanity.

The biggest thing I have learned since my accident in 2017 is to be extremely cautious of your surroundings, other drivers, and your decisions in yours or someone else’s car. Be intentional with what you do and where you do it, and keep your eyes on the road. All it takes is a moment—a moment where your entire life can be taken from you or someone else.