Small Mistakes, Big Consequences

Small Mistakes, Big Consequences

I did not know why I had to leave early. After an evening spent celebrating my friend’s birthday, my dad came to pick me up, which I thought was strange, since my mom said she would be driving me home. After buckling my seat belt, I turned to my father and asked him where mom was.

Hands gripped tightly on the wheel, he stated flatly, “There was an accident.”

As we plunged through the swarms of plummeting snow, it struck me as ironic that we call car crashes “accidents,” as the very word implies that it is without fault, inconsequential, and, above all, insignificant. Indeed, the crash was a mistake. It was snowy and dark as my mother returned home from work, and the neighborhood I live in tends to lean on the side of slippery, sloped, and an overall nightmare to drive in during winter. Finding that she could not climb up the mountainous road, she called my dad to pick her up in a vehicle better equipped for the treacherous, snow-packed streets. As my father answered the phone, a car speeding down the incline slammed head-on into her compact SUV.

Hearing the details of what happened that night as we drove home made me shiver, even as the heating blasted against the December chill. Thankfully, my mother was able to walk away, albeit with a sternum fracture, shoulder injury, and bruises. Still, it did not take much to imagine a parallel universe where I would have lost one of the most important people in my life.

A year later, I started learning how to drive, and (undoubtedly) made many mistakes along the way–that could’ve caused much worse damage had I been less lucky. According to the US Department of Transportation, over 5.8 million collisions occur annually, and the National Safety Council estimates that the lives of 38,000 people are taken by vehicle crashes. Even if you have not been in a car accident, it is likely that you will experience about four incidents over the course of your lifetime. The statistics about driving safety are shocking, but they are often preventable through simple precautions.

An NHTSA study found that 94% of accidents are due to human error –wholly preventable– but these simple errors are not without consequence. Exercising caution at all times is perhaps the easiest way to prevent accidents but is also easily forgotten in our busy day-to-day lives. Add on the countless distractions in our modern-day world, and it can be difficult to maintain a laser focus on the road. Staying alert, slowing down (yes, even when you are running late), and not driving under the influence are some of the simplest steps one can take to ensure safety while driving. Despite how apparent these strategies seem, not practicing these measures is a frequent cause of collisions. Learning defensive driving skills and exercising caution at all times may be difficult to master, but in less than favorable circumstances, it can save your life and the lives of others.