ONE

ONE

Have you ever had an experience of being in a car accident or have seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly?

I was 10 years old, on the way home from school. It’s a cool November evening and I remember staring out the window and watching cars pass by. The sound of the car traveling on the road captured my attention and the monotonous ‘rolling’ of the tires on the pavement soon sent me into a daze of sleepiness. *Ring! ring! ring!* My sister rang my mom’s phone and I abruptly woke up. As soon as she answered, the first words that entered both my Mom and my ears’ were: “Mom please come. I got into a car crash.”. That one sentence alone made my Mom’s and my heart drop down all the way to our stomachs. It’s something that many fear hearing and it may be the most feared of all to some.

My sister was lucky to have survived the incident and especially lucky to not have hit any other car. The incident took place during rush hour, 5 pm, and it took place in a tunnel that sits just outside the airport. So, albeit she was tremendously lucky to not have been fatally hurt and tremendously lucky to not have caused a collateral crash with other cars. The concluding cause of the crash was all because of a phone. To be specific, she went to look at her Maps and see what direction she needed to go next, but the second she went and looked, the car spun out. The car spun out on the right side of the tunnel and swerved onto the other side. It all happened in such a blur and she thought she didn’t make it for a second.

What I’m trying to get at here is that it only takes ONE second to screw up your life. It takes ONE second and ONE mistake to screw everything up. Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year of your life will mean nothing in that ONE moment you stop to take a look at your phone. Whether it be to text, to look at a notification, to call someone, and even to look at directions, being on your phone is being on your phone. Nothing and no one should distract your concentration on the road and nothing should come between your eyes and what’s in front of you. Just one mistake is all it takes to turn driving into a full blown catastrophe.

My sister, to this day, still thinks about the crash everyday when she drives. Though, in the end, it did help her become a better driver. Thus, allowing for her to be safer on the road. It ensures the safety of others sharing the road with her as well. The crash served as a lesson to her, to my family, and me. Your phone, a call, a text, or directions may be important, but your life is the utmost priority when it comes to being on the road. Your phone won’t matter when you make just that one fatal mistake. What would matter is the eternal pain you cause on your family, friends, and loved ones. So, keep that in mind the next time you drive.

Works Cited

“Scholarship.” DmvEdu.org, 9 Sept. 2020, www.dmvedu.org/scholarship/.