From Freedom to Fear

On September 2nd, 2024 two days before my senior year of high school I got into a car accident. It was my first car after getting my driver’s license through driver’s education. I had the car for two weeks before it was totaled. That was one of the scariest moments of my life. Getting into this accident changed me forever and showed me what it means to be on the road. Driving is freedom, but you’re also putting your life on the line. This was my experience.

One second I was turning left and the next I saw a car racing toward me, but nothing. Everything went dark and silent. I exited my car and was rushed away from my leaking vehicle. “It’s okay, you’re okay, are you injured?” That is the first thing I remember hearing. I didn’t feel it then but I had a seatbelt burn across my shoulder down to my hips. My knee was also very swollen and bruised badly. If I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt I would have been injured worse. When I was hit my car was spun all the way around, airbags deployed. If my seatbelt was not on I would have most likely flown out the window. I recall my mom yelling at me to put my seatbelt on when I was younger, but I thought it was fun with no seatbelt. After September 2nd I will not move my car or let anyone move their car until all seat belts are on.

I was all over the place, I was panicking. All I could think was that my phone with my insurance and my wallet was in my car. The leaking car that I couldn’t go near. “Do you need to call someone?” She handed me her phone and I tried to type my mom’s phone number. I forgot it. I sat on the keypad for what felt like forever. What was my mom’s number? And why did I forget the number I’ve known for years? This sent me into more of a panic. I looked around to see everyone staring. It felt as if all eyes were on me, and they were. What was my mom’s number? Stop looking at me! I dialed her number eventually and she rushed over. It wasn’t far from home. That turn was one I never took. The road felt too narrow but that day I decided to try it. My mom showed up with my grandma and I rushed into her arms. All I could care about was that she was there. I remember I would tell my mom, “Did you know most accidents happen close to home?” She never really believed me. Yet that day I was 2 minutes away from being home.

For days after my accident, I could not sleep. I had to be put on medication for anxiety because every time I closed my eyes I saw the car again. It just replayed in my head over, and over, and over again. I had never experienced something as scary as that accident. My first car lived for two weeks because someone else was rushing to get to their destination. When you live through a traumatic event like a car accident it alters everything about your life. It changes your perspective. You hear about stories like mine, some worse, some not as bad, and you think “That wouldn’t happen to me, I’m a safe driver”. You could be, I am too. That doesn’t mean everyone else around you is. Getting behind the wheel is a choice you’re making in your life. That doesn’t mean you should be scared of it, but that means you need to be fully aware of everything around you at all times. One wrong move from anyone and it can cost your life.

Recently I’ve gotten a new car. Adjusting to driving again is scary. Driver’s education taught me what I needed to know about driving and what to do when in an accident. I encourage you to take a driver’s education course because it will help you. There is a lot of useful information that you sometimes don’t catch on to but driver’s education taught me it all. Getting your license and on the road feels refreshing. It gives you that sense of freedom, but there are also consequences. Being safe on the road is the first thing you need to understand before you get behind the wheel. For me, driver’s education taught me it all. Thank you for reading my story and please, always remember your seatbelt. Never forget it. That seatbelt saved my life and let me be here today to tell my story.