“It Will Never Happen to Me”

“It will never happen to me.”

As a society we are all used to campaigns against drunk-driving, texting while driving, distracted-driving, etc. Driver education is established specifically to teach people about these hazards, as well as practices to reduce the risk of death while driving. We hear it so often however we become apt to immediately tune it out as an automated response, our sub-conscious promising us we don’t need to pay attention, because after all, “it’ll never happen to me”. This is often what we convince ourselves, as some part of our psyche seems to hold on to an idealism that whatever misfortune another will suffer is and will forever remain beyond us. We tell ourselves: theirs was just bad luck, poor timing, or an unfortunate lack of skill. Whether we want to admit it or not we all fall prey to this, which is exactly why we continue to send a quick text while driving, search for things we lost on the floor, and have a couple beers with dinner before heading home.

I am no different. I used to think I could drink and drive because I ran my behavior through a series of logical tests and trials and judged it to be justified. I could follow all speed limits, stay perfectly within the lines, recognize stop signs and lights and react otherwise as I normally would. Seeing that there was no apparent risk to my unwillingness to follow guidelines, not to mention rules laid about by somebody else, I continued to drink and drive for years. One day, after a particularly long and stressful day at work, I stayed late at a bar with friends drinking past closing time. We made plans to meet up at another’s house so I went home, grabbed my Rottweiler puppy and headed over. I had made it all the way to the exit about 5 minutes from his house before I fell asleep, as I would find out later. They told me I passed out as I got off the exit and never slowed down.

This exit had a large median in the middle that forced you to turn left or right, but I continued to go straight, hitting a sign and flipping my Chevy blazer end-over-end. When my car hit the ground it continued to roll through all of the lanes of traffic, eventually coming to a stop on the other side. It will be forever burned into my memory, the smell of metal and burning things, the feeling that something had happened very wrong. When I got a good look at my vehicle the next day I saw the entire passenger side had been caved in from the sign, and I knew that anyone who would’ve been sitting there would be dead. All of the tires were gone and the wheels were partly sawed off, the majority of it so dented and damaged it looked like it had been compressed in a junk-yard. A miracle was performed though and not only did I not hit anyone else, but both my puppy and I walked out of that accident with nothing more than bruises and a concussion.

I cannot say why I was spared and why others are not, but I knew that I would never get a chance like that again. A lesson was imparted to me, and I never once allowed myself to be deceived into thinking I was above a consequence while driving. Having recognized that I’d once so firmly believed it would not happen to me, I acknowledged that my understanding could not be trusted, and that those rules had been put into place for a life-saving reason. I do not text, even if it is a short message or I am going slow, because I know that no matter what, it can happen. I do not drink, not a single beer and get into a vehicle, because I realize my rationality of why I can break the rules is a ruse.

To this day I often hear people saying the exact same thing as I once had, “I’m a safe driver, I drive exactly the same whether I drink or don’t,” and so forth. I tell them my story of how I had thought the same, in hopes they will learn from my mistake, without having to risk their life and health; or even worse, that of another. Some have been moved into questioning their own reasonings, but others have not. The fact of the matter is though we must not allow ourselves to consider our ability to reason the final authority; we must not be tempted to justify our wrong behavior for the sake of convenience. As people that share the road together it is our responsibility to take driving education seriously, following all the practices put into place for our safety. It is also equally as important to encourage those we have influence over, whether it be by setting a good example, or having the courage to address behavior that is dangerous. Together we can make the roads a safer place as we pursue better driving habits, higher education, and committing to never becoming complacent.