How to Avoid Becoming a Statistic

How to Avoid Becoming a Statistic

36,096. That is the number of fatalities from car accidents in 2019 according to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), but that’s only in the United States. As current police officer I have worked a lot of car accidents, and several have been fatal car accidents. I have also conducted hundreds of traffic stops where the person operating the vehicle doesn’t have a driver’s license.

Driver’s education, a class that I was fortunate enough to have been taught in high school and was required to take before getting my driver’s license. Though some states don’t even require a driver education course. How can someone safely operate a motor vehicle without the proper education. Do they know what the traffic signs mean? Do they know the safest car length to maintain from another driver? Do they know the different impacts the weather can have on driving? Without a mandatory driver education class prior to getting a driver’s license, it is allowing uneducated drivers to be on the road and potentially put others at risk of becoming another statistic. Mandatory driver education courses across the country could potentially reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities over the years to come.

There are plenty of steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving including, making sure to wear your seatbelt, putting your cell phone away while driving, calling an uber or another form of transportation when impaired, and obeying traffic signs and lights. If a driver were to count to 10 after the light turns from red to green, this could ensure that it is safe to drive through the intersection. All of these are just minor things that take minimal effort from the driver. Focusing on the road is the only job of a responsible driver.

July 1, 2016, I was driving home from work around 11 pm. Work at the time was only 3.5 miles away from my house and I had planned on working out when I got home. Those plans quickly changed when I was coming up to an intersection where I had the solid green light. The road I was driving on was marked a 50-mph zone and I was driving 52-mph. As I approached the intersection, I watched as a green Jeep traveling in the opposite direction approached the intersection. The Jeep signaled to get over into the left turn lane. I thought to myself that the Jeep was going to stop and yield the right of way to me like it was supposed to. I got closer to the intersection and I was about 200 feet from the light at this point. The Jeep still hadn’t stopped. I began looking in my side mirrors to see if I would be able to swerve away from the Jeep if I needed to, but there were two other cars not too far behind me on both sides. I began to apply my breaks and the Jeep had entered the intersection. I saw my car about to crash into the Jeep and thought to myself, “I hope this doesn’t hurt.” The next thing I remember is my car horn going off, the smell of sulfur from the airbags, and people banging on my window because my driver’s door was stuck shut. I had hit the Jeep so hard, my car had spun 180 degrees, ripped my back passenger tire off and it struck the traffic light box. When I was finally able to get my door opened, I exited the vehicle and my ribs, lower back, left arm, and left knee were all sore. When I looked over at the Jeep, I see the other driver is not responsive to the group of guys banging on his window.

Police arrive on scene and are able to get the driver to wake up. I observe the other driver exit his car and is unsteady on his feet, he’s swaying, and using the car for balance. The officer began field sobriety tests on the driver. I watched as they arrested him and waited for them to tell me what was going to happen next, though I had a suspicion it was going to result in the other driver going to jail for DUI. They finally came over and told me the other driver was impaired. I became enraged at the fact the driver of the Jeep could’ve killed me due to him being extremely irresponsible. I got checked out by medics and was cleared, but I ended up having to go through months of physical therapy for my back.

This would not be the only accident that I was involved in with an irresponsible driver, though it was the one that has made the biggest impact on me and my driving behaviors. I already knew better than to drive while impaired, but this was something that made it stick in the forefront of my mind. I can take these unfortunate experiences and educate family and friends on the dangers of driving while impaired or distracted, not as a police officer, but as someone involved in several motor vehicle accidents.

Even as a police officer, I am not a perfect driver; nor will I ever be. There is no such thing as perfect in this world. However, I have also been trained through my department how to operate an emergency vehicle safely. This training has rolled over into my daily driving habits. I have become more aware that I am not the only driver on the road and that other drivers can be unpredictable at times. Having a cellphone in my hand to answer a text, snapchat, or dm can wait until I am not driving. My only job as a responsible driver is to focus on the road.