My Driving Experience

August 14, 2016 I was in a bad car accident. Someone was texting while driving and ran a stop sign. They crashed right into me and my mom driving along. I remember it feeling like I was moving in slow motion. When the car stopped moving my head, my neck, and my back hurt. I was taken to the hospital to find out I had severe whiplash and the ligaments in my neck were sprained. I was in a neck brace for several months. We were lucky no one died.

After the car accident I was extremely nervous in cars. My doctor decided to put me on anti-anxiety medication and sent me to a counselor. She diagnosed me with PTSD. I had to be taught ways to stay calm while in cars.

I eventually went off of my medication because I started feeling more confident. Once I got my permit, I started getting anxious in cars again. Almost every time I saw a car come up to a stop sign on a side road, I felt sick. I decided to go back on my medication so I can be calm while driving.

Being in a car accident changed the way I drive today. I went through a driver’s education class in my sophomore year of high school, and while I was on my permit, I had a driving teacher. My personal experience made me a safe driver. My driver’s education class taught me the laws of the road, but not how to become a safe driver. The laws the class taught can reduce the number of deaths to make sure people aren’t driving as recklessly.

I feel that more experience needs to be shared with people starting to drive to help them understand the consequences of reckless driving. Another step that should be taken to reduce the number of deaths is to increase regulations and punishments of driving under the influence or reckless driving.

I have seen and heard that many of my friends and family are texting and driving, driving under the influence, and distracted driving in general. I encourage them to not do that while driving because it is very dangerous. It is more important to be safe then to be late or not be able to get where you are going. People will understand if you do not answer their message or if you aren’t able to get there.

I have taken many steps to make sure I am a responsible and safe driver. I have a detector in my car from my insurance company that detects my driving. If I am driving safely my insurance bill will be cheaper that month. I also have Life360 with my mother so she is able to see where I am if anything would happen and if I am not following the speed limit.

The car accident I was in made me an extremely cautious driver. That horrible experience made me be more responsible. I want to prevent people from experiencing what I did. I hope everyone can learn from their mistakes to safe a life.