Memories

My gaze was fixated forward, my eyes scanned the license plates attached to the rear of each car preceding my family’s. My eyes continued to scan, I am confronted with a sea of Florida plates, evident as we are returning from our Florida family vacation. I finally see a new license plate, the state of Michigan. As I am about to call out the state in victory, the grey truck with Michigan plates unexpectedly swerves to the left. My Dad commands my brothers and I to close our eyes, attempting to protect us from the grim image only a few feet in front of us. Despite this, I am unable to turn my head quick enough and am faced with a detailed image of the driver, their torso nearly severed by the door frame. One moment he was carelessly hanging his hand out the open window, the next his plaid shirt was soaked with blood and wounds were gaping. I turn to look behind me as we pass to see the front of the truck was obliterated to pieces when it hit the side wall head-on. I will never know the cause or the result of that accident, I will never know who lived but I doubt anyone did. I will never know what caused them to make the fatal mistake of jerking their steering wheel. I will never be able to erase the image ingrained within my memory. Every time I get behind the wheel in my newly purchased vehicle, I recall the mere seconds that likely ended the lives of those strangers two cars ahead of us. 

When I was much younger, I can recall when a Jeep on the highway flipped. Strapped into my car seat, I remember as my parents rushed to utilize the dark green bathroom towels folded in the back of our car compress the wounds of the driver and soak up great amounts of blood. I was never to see those dark green towels again. I can only assume they were thrown away by emergency services professionals. I can’t recall much of the accident, as I was only a small child, but I remember vividly the terror and frantic actions of my parents’ response. I remember the confusion as my parents scrambled to aid the unfortunate individual in the accident. I faintly recall it may have involved alcohol; I don’t believe he survived. 

I never fully comprehended what was occurring, until I began to take my own driving courses. I learned of the dangers of flipping my car, the damage it could do, and the related fatality. While I know neither of the outcomes of these accidents, the sheer terror they brought and the impact they had on my view of driving indicate just how influential they were. In my short lifetime, I have already witnessed two fatal accidents, and unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence. 

More recently, I can perfectly envision the pictures posted on the school walls, on social media pages, and in news stories. I felt dreadful when I heard that two students from my high school class had been involved in a fatal car accident the night before. Though I initially wasn’t aware of their identities, I knew I would never again see two of the classmates I have grown up with. Later learning their identities and feeling broken inside, that their parents would never be able to give them another hug, and that they would be absent from my next class period. One teenager’s poor choice to speed at night around a corner meant that two families within my community would never fill their dinner table. 

Each of these accidents is a prime example of automobile accidents leading to irreversible damage. Every driver must remember that driving is a privilege and a responsibility. Every time an individual gets behind the wheel, without proper safety measures, they could be putting themselves in a fatal position. Drivers must eliminate all distractions and focus completely on the task at hand. If all drivers keep this in mind and are cautious for possible collisions and accidents, the number of deaths caused by driving would starkly decrease. Proper standardized drivers education to inform all new drivers of the hazards and complications that can arise when driving would mean fewer children would have chilling memories ingrained in their memories of those strangers who lost their lives in front of their young eyes and friends who will never get to say goodbye to their best friend.