Why Prevention Matters

Clara Koster

I have been in two car accidents: one of which I caused and one of which I prevented from killing both of us. The first one, I went through a stop where oncoming traffic did not have to stop and I did not realize, didn’t yield long enough, and had my bumper taken off while the person who hit me totaled their car. The second time someone turned left in front of me on my way home and I swerved, avoiding T-boning them on their driver’s side only for them to T-bone me on my passenger’s side. Both of our cars were totaled.

Preventing the accident was made possible by thinking quickly and knowing that hitting their car on the driver’s side was the worst-case scenario. In my driver’s ed classes, there was a segment about where to aim for in a car accident if possible, liking hitting a bush instead of a tree. Even though I swerved to the left into oncoming traffic, I had seen that there was no one in those two lanes yet and knew that even though the chance of me driving by without getting hit was slim, when I did get hit, neither one of us would be guaranteed death as we were before. Had I not been paying attention in class; I likely would have missed this portion and not been thinking this way. I was also screening the road; I noticed her car before she pulled out and was able to watch her start moving and act quicker. In my practice drives, my instructors were insistent on checking mirrors and watching other cars in traffic as well as my own. My classes properly prepared me for damage reduction in accidents and saved my life and another’s.

I used to think car accidents weren’t a massive deal, that once you had paid the deductible and gotten a new car if yours was totaled, you would be fine and externally this is true. Given, first you have to get through the insurance companies, wait for a check, and manager to find a decent car at a dealership. Internally, car accidents can at the very least give you more driving anxiety, if not Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Even when everything has been set straight, you risk being haunted by the accident and while therapy or medication can help, there is no guarantee.

Preventing car accidents is vital. Cars easily become fatal and even if the accident does not kill you, there are both long-term and short-term consequences. Prevention starts with education, with laying the knowledge groundwork in class to reinforce in practice and, if necessary, but hopefully not, use in the event of an accident.