The Perils of Man Vs. Machine

The Perils of Man vs. Machine

Through the evolution of mankind, humanity has gone through being on the defensive against angry beasts and wild animals to being threatened by a man-made, two ton hunk of steel and motors. The only difference is that we have lost our ability to understand the severity of such threats as time has gone on. We live in a world where the illusion of safety comes in the form of seatbelts and airbags, protected by the metal surrounding us as we drive. We come to be conditioned that as long as enough people drive safely, there is nothing to worry about. We come to have little to no care about the fragility of our lives every time we step into a vehicle.

It is easy to forget how many people forget to be safe, how many people believe that they’re sober enough to drive. We find it so easy to forget that driving is such a dangerous task, until we’re forced to remember the 10,500 people killed by drunk drivers every year. 29 people a day. Three people every two hours. Over 2,000 people are killed as a result of distracted driving alone.

How many of those people expected to make it home from the grocery store? How many of those people will have their mothers be forced to say goodbye after the last conversation she had with her child was an argument? How many of those caskets are no more than four feet in length, with a future cancer specialist laying just past the lid?

Education on the dangers of driving in an unsafe manner is the scale that balances a person between life and death. It is the responsibility of every driver on the road to constantly be aware of their surroundings with a clear mind and the ability to react in an adequate amount of time. Driver’s education must do more in educating on the dangers of unsafe driving. Parents must do more to explain to a child why driving with your cell phone in sight is a desired hiss for disaster. We as a collective society must do more to better the chances of everyone’s survival while on the road. Keep distractions such as phones or tablets off to the side where they are difficult to reach. Always wear a seatbelt and never drive drunk. Be sure that your airbags are still functioning and remember that the brake is the pedal on the left.

Even the result of distracted driving can change a life forever. I can attest to that from firsthand experience. It takes only a split second of distraction, one moment where your eyes aren’t on the road, for disaster to strike.

November 1st, 2018, I was in the crosswalk to go to school when I was struck by a vehicle going 40 miles per hour. I had done everything correctly: my phone was in my backpack, so I couldn’t have been the one distracted; I had hit the pedestrian lights; and I had checked to see if cars were coming before I began to cross the street. The driver, however, had not made such precautions and a minute to look down at his phone was all it took to sent me flying 84 feet down the road.

I fought for my life in the hospital, and it took the full first day for doctors to be confident that I would survive. Two breaks in my pelvis came within millimeters of puncturing an internal organ, and I had to have a screw put in place to reattach my pelvis to my spine. My collarbone had been shattered, my ankle had broke on both sides, I had a fracture in my shoulderblade, and I had a torn ACL. Because of the damage caused to my pelvis, I was bound to a wheelchair for three months; I then had to power through physical therapy for over a year. I am permanently changed from being struck, both mentally and physically. I do not know if I can carry a child, should I want to. There are days where the accident comes back and it hurts just as much as it did in the past.

But I am lucky to be able to share that story. So many factors went into my accident that allowed me to survive, but many others are not so lucky. I find it important to share my story to as many people as I can, to be the voice for those who suffered a worse fate than mine, all to show people what the dangers of driving can cause. Education is our first defense against any tragedy in life, and I will be the first to say such. Put your phones down when you drive. Do not drink and then put your keys in the ignition. Be aware of everything going on around you.

Do not make a mistake that costs you someone else’s life. That is a debt that will never be taken from your shoulders.