Car Accidents and Better Drivers

We hear the statistics often of how many deaths per year involving cars there are, but it’s less comprehensive than experiencing it first hand. All we see is just some big number, and that truly doesn’t make us understand; comparing the size of people living in an area would help people understand the numbers better. However, the information is essential to understand; this way, we can prevent these numbers from increasing. So overall, it is crucial to understand how big the number of deaths involving cars truly is.

Unfortunately for me, I have personally been affected by car accidents. Thankfully, all the accidents that I have experienced around me have not been severe enough to take someone from me, but it most definitely has had an impact on me.

The first time I was in a car accident, we were tired from the night of watching the local fathers play their soccer matches at the park. There was five of us out that night, I was around 15 years old with my mother, a friend of my mother’s, and her two kids. I was riding in the front passenger seat in the family car with my mother driving, and the other three were sitting in the back seat. I’m sure we were chatting and listening to music when suddenly we got rear-ended not once but three times over. The driver had been drinking and decided it was a good idea to get behind the wheel. My mother had noticed him speeding through her rearview mirror, but she figured he would drive around her since the rest of the road was completely open. After the crash, all the passengers, including myself, were frantic. My mother kept her calm since she was the driver. She pulled to the side of the road, looked at me, and said call 911. So I took a breath, steadied my hands as best I could, and called.

This is one of the most impactful memories I have about drunk driving. I know this is the most repetitive thing to say but never get behind the wheel intoxicated. No matter how many drinks it has been, half a glass or multiple shots. It’s not worth putting anyone else’s life at risk for something that has a simple solution: just getting a ride home.

Without my mother there, I would have been too shocked to do anything properly. Thinking about it, it would have been helpful to have almost had a trial crash as part of my driver’s license test or even during the learner’s permit testing. A pretend crash would have been helpful to have more background before a real crash occurred. Something that could give drivers a mental checklist to go through when they do have a collision on the road. Hopefully, most won’t have to use the checklist, but it’s good to have that knowledge.

I believe all drivers must get out of the car and be pedestrians or bike riders for a few days. This will help them understand what it’s like not to be in a thousand-pound vehicle. It’s a big step to start to realize how much responsibility the driver has to be alert for people on the road and, of course, be in the proper state of mind to drive.

I started biking to work for a few months to save money on gas. That’s when I finally realized how dangerous riding was and how bad the infrastructure was for bike riders. I ride on the sidewalks rather than the bike lane on the road, and even then, the infrastructure is not good. Divers don’t realize this as they drive, but sidewalks can end suddenly. Overall, the experience of bike riding was not great.

Another thing that has happened to me is when I’m biking, I come to a stoplight, and I hit the button to cross the road; the pedestrian walking sign turns on and indicates that it is good to cross the road, but the cars that are turning left are also allowed to cross. This means I still have to be aware of vehicles even though I have the right of way. More importantly, the drivers need to be aware of the pedestrian, or a tragedy is waiting to happen.

After experiencing the road as a pedestrian/bike rider, I have driven a lot slower and ensured there were no pedestrians before making turns where there could be. Getting out of the car is a simple step drivers can take to become safer on the road. Not to mention, it’s an easy way to add in an extra bit of exercise for the day. The more people we get out of cars to experience the roads as a non drivers, the closer we are to a safer road. And while we are experiencing the roads as pedestrians, maybe we will come to understand that having a more walkable/bikeable city will also prevent more car deaths.