Lock In

When I was younger, at the age of 8 years old, my grandmother and aunt were involved in a devastating car accident. They were hit right in front of the airport by a trucker that was speeding. They had just arrived in Irvine, California, after a trip and were excited to go meet their relatives, but instead were hit by a reckless driver. My aunt’s neck was immediately broken and she died upon impact. My grandmother had been knocked unconscious and was rushed to the hospital where the doctors pronounced her brain dead. My aunt left behind her 16 year old daughter, who would continue to grow up without a mother. The only interactions with my grandmother that I remembered was visiting her at the hospital. She would lay in her hospital bed, unmoving, not able to speak, not even there with us. This accident could have been prevented.

My mother has also been involved in various car accidents, none of which were her fault. She has been rear ended half a dozen times by drivers that are either distracted or driving too closely. The amount of times that we have received a call that someone has hit my mother again is too much to count on one hand. I have witnessed firsthand how the accidents have influenced her. Although none were fatal, thankfully, she still has to deal with a lot of residual pain from the accidents. Her back and neck constantly ache and she has not been able to relieve the discomfort. Doctors have recommended her various remedies that just don’t work. These accidents could have been prevented.

I’ve noticed that when kids start to get to the age where they are allowed to learn how to drive a car, they become so thrilled with the idea of gaining a certain amount of freedom that they forget how dangerous these vehicles are. I know that personally, I still thought back to my grandmother and aunt, and my parents would still remind me often when I got in a car, that driving safely should be my number one priority because a single mistake or a moment of distraction could cost me my life. Although I was warned and stayed vigilant, I too was involved in a car accident a few weeks after I got my license. Another vehicle tried to overtake me and instead rammed into my driver’s door. Initially I was in shock, I had just passed my exam and was practicing all the safe habits that I just went over the previous week. Regardless, that did not prevent a reckless driver from colliding with me. My parents were terrified and thought that this was a bad omen, a sign that I should not drive anymore. They feared that regardless of how safe I would be, I might end up just like their relatives.
My parents then enrolled me in a supplemental driving program that went over the basics of driving safety and how to identify aggressive drivers to avoid them. I believe that this program was something that most kids would not have access to, especially since the process of gaining a license seems to be so simple now. Driver’s education in high school only taught how to identify signs, reading the road lights, and understanding what a double yellow versus a single yellow line meant. I never took courses on how to avoid other drivers, I was constantly told that as long as I was driving safely, I should be okay. I think that safety programs like these help kids understand that not only must they drive safely, but they must also be very aware of their surroundings as well. You can do everything right on your end and still get into an accident because someone else is driving recklessly. Identifying these individuals on the street is the first step to keeping yourself safe. This, I feel, is as important as learning how to read street signs and determine who has the right of way. If you are driving on the street and notice aggressive drivers behind or next to you, just let them pass. No good things arise from staying near an aggressive driver. Keep a respectable distance between yourself and the cars in front and behind you. If you notice a car tailgating you, try to pull to the right-most lane and let it pass. If you are in a car with an individual who is driving aggressively, voice your concerns and tell them that driving aggressively does not get them to their destination any faster. Staying safe should be their number one priority.