Consequence and Reward

Brianne Johnson

07.30.2019

Consequence and Reward

Every
action has a consequence. Whether that consequence be beneficial or
not is relative. In this particular case, it can mean the difference
between life and death. There is a reason for safety training in any
potentially dangerous action and more often than not, it is meant to
help prevent death, but in case of a life-threatening event, safety
training is meant to give us the tools to respond in such a way that
helps ensure survival.

I have been in two accidents. One was life threatening and the other
was a result of a negligent driver. The first occurred six months
into my driving experience. I had spent endless hours practicing
however I was unprepared for a mechanic failure as significant as
axle failure. After investigation of the accident, it was determined
the used car I had been driving must have been in an unreported
accident that resulted in a crack in the axle that would have been
undetectable via visual inspection. The resulting consequence of this
unreported accident left me to lose the back left wheel on the
vehicle following the axle breaking entirely sending the vehicle into
an uncontrolled fishtail with a finale of rolling across the highway
four times before landing, thankfully, right sight up.

Every window except the driver’s side window had blown out in the
roll. Going into the roll my mind was racing and I decided not to
brace as I thought about how drunk people tend survive more often
than sober ones. I tucked myself into a ball and let the car throw me
about. This likely was why I was able to leave the experience with no
more than a punctured lung and too many bruises to count. I was later
told that I was the first live person many of them had seen in
hundreds of accidents along that stretch. The second accident was
less exciting as I had stopped at a light but the person behind me
assumed I would drive through the yellow light I had come upon. The
result was a lack of attention on the other driver’s part as he
rear-ended me at 30mph.

Both of these experiences made me consider what could be done to
reduce such events and a couple things came to mind. First, regular
maintenance of the vehicle would allow for less failure along with a
complete history of any used vehicle. The other is to make public
transportation a more viable option in places where that does not
exist. Public transportation allows for alternative travelling
sources and removes people from the road ultimately reducing the
probability of an accident. Services such as Uber or Lyft have
allowed a reduction in drunk driving and irresponsible behavior
behind the wheel. The best way to avoid disaster is to treat driving
with the respect it deserves and act responsibly when considering
driving. I do this each and every time I drive, along with being
sufficiently prepared to the best of my ability.

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