I’m Late

“I’m late, come on kids, we have to hurry!” Yelling frantically as we ran to our car. “ Jump in, don’t worry about seat belts, we have to go NOW!!!! I don’t want you to be late to school once more. “ The kids hurry into the car barely getting their doors shut as I speed out of the driveway. Soon as I get to the end of the road I hear the kids in the back seat start to argue with each other. “ My turn to sit by the door, no it’s my turn. “ I have no time to deal with this, they can’t be late again, I turn the radio up so I can’t hear them and begin to drive. Wipers are going as fast as they can with the heat blasted on defrost, i can barely see out my window and it’s pouring rain. I am not going to slow down, I can’t waste any time.

As I start to get near the intersection , I quickly come to a halt as the stoplight has turned red. All of a sudden I feel a Bang!!! And I heard tires screeching, everything happened so fast I couldn’t make out what was going on. I then hear screaming and crying coming from the back seat. Someone has hit the back of my car and my two year old is on the floor of the car not able to move. What have I done? Why did this happen? I rushed to get out of the car and check on all my kids and as i’m doing that i hear someone yell, “ Call 911 my wife is not responsive!” As the ambulance and police rolled up on scene there was a chaotic tragedy happening everywhere. Two people were airlifted in critical condition, the driver of the other vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, and my kids were taken to the hospital. This is a day I will never forget.

All those questions that race through my mind on that day flash before my eyes with me every time I get into a car. This was that exact scenario, my parents always taught me, they always rushed out the door when we had to leave and I have been in multiple car accidents because of quick, poor, and fast judgment calls from my parents. Now As a mom of three kids who never took driver’s education I only knew what my parents taught me and wish I knew more. My parents, as did so many of my friends’ parents, all taught us how to drive because they couldn’t afford driver training. But our parents didn’t teach us anything about safety, they taught us the basics of basics when it comes to driving. First you get in the car then you turn it on, check your mirrors and begin to drive while staying on your side of the road. Then when you come to stop slam on the brakes to make sure you stop then continue till you reach your destination. If I had more awareness of safety and other safety protocols when it comes to driving, I believe this accident would have never happened. Why didn’t I learn that it was important to make sure your window was cleared before driving, that kids are buckled up, that you can see out of all your mirrors, that your radio should be down enough where you can hear for sirens.

I believe that if it was required for everyone to take a driving course to learn the safety of driving it would help tremendously with reducing car accidents along with implementing a new rule. A rule that would require all individuals regardless of age to complete a mindful driving course, a course that would consist of why safety is important and play out scenarios when you are not mindful of others drivers, make the course more about others’ affect on your driving versus how you are driving. If more people were aware that their reckless driving would impact other people’s lives in a devastating way, they would be more mindful to take the time and drive safely.

From my own personal experience this has helped me be more careful when driving. I will always tell my children that it’s better to be late somewhere than to rush and hurt others or yourself. Having this perspective has given me the grace I need to get places. I plan to implement this when it comes to driving with my family and friends. It all starts with one thought and action to do the right thing when it comes to driving.