An Everyday Situation That Could Cost You Your Life

An Everyday Situation That Could Cost You Your Life

Morgan Weber

Imagine you are driving down the road, no one is around. All of a sudden, you hear the dinging of your cell phone indicating you had just received a text message or Snapchat and you think to yourself, “It would be okay if I took a quick glance. No one is even around. What’s the worst that could happen?” Then, out of nowhere from just past a hill, appears another car while you were not paying attention. Your lack of focus led you over the median strip. The cars collide. Your life flashes before your eyes. What happens next? Within a matter of seconds, you could be severely injured, paralyzed, or even dead—along with all the other people in the other vehicle. This is an ordinary situation that occurs every day—possibly more than once. Given the American population alone is 328.2 million people, this is a very dangerous situation. At any point in time, a number of people could be in this same position and suffer the consequences if they choose to participate in distracted driving. This doesn’t affect just the distracted drivers, though; instead, it affects all the other drivers on the road that could be potential victims of the distracted driver’s poor decisions. I was a victim of a distracted driver’s poor decision as I was innocently heading home from my daily workout at a local gym. At the time of the accident, my house was located off of a highway with no turning lane, which means drivers are expected to stop on the highway and wait for an opening in the oncoming traffic to get into the development in which I lived. So, there I was, sitting on the highway, blinker on, waiting patiently for an opening, when a car came up behind me progressing at about 45-50 miles per hour and displayed no indication of slowing down. This driver also had a passenger. A little girl. 4 years old. The driver did not look up in time to see that I was waiting to turn. Boom. I was rear-ended by this driver. Thankfully, no one was severely hurt, but due to the poor decisions of the driver, they could have risked severe injury or even death to themself, their daughter, and me. I ended up suffering a strained shoulder and was required to go to the chiropractor twice a week for two months due to the fact that I suffered a mild case of whiplash. Because of the driver’s irresponsibility, both cars were totaled.

Plenty of solutions exist to eliminate the potential dangers of driving including: Drivers Education courses, avoiding distractions, and driving responsibly. Drivers Education courses teach young drivers the significance of getting into the driver’s seat and controlling a vehicle. The courses also teach young drivers that along with the thrill of having a new freedom, dangers surface every time they get behind the wheel. Young drivers learn about responsibility and critical information to know while driving, such as, what various road signs mean. Even though Drivers Education courses teach you about the rules of the road and responsibility, it does not protect you from getting into a car accident. I participated in Drivers Education courses and still suffered from the reckless behavior of other drivers. On average, 16,438 car accidents occur every day in the U.S. The next accident could involve you if you are not careful. Be aware. Be educated. Be smart. Most importantly, be safe.