Two Hundred and Eighty Million

Two hundred and eighty million. Two hundred and eighty million vehicles that have been reported to have crashed in one year alone in the United States. My car, in the year 2021, happened to be a part of those hundreds of millions. And though my car only made up .0000003% of the number of vehicles reported in an accident last year, it could have been two fewer cars having to be taken in to be repaired, one less police siren going off on an afternoon in April of 2021, and one less phone call to the parents of a scared 16-year-old girl, not knowing how to fix what she had done.

That was me. I was that scared 16-year-old girl, with tears streaming down my face and rain pouring over my head, wishing that I could somehow go back in time and take back that it had ever happened. Although I had gotten into what is commonly known as a small fender-bender accident, my heavy breathing, overwhelming emotions, and crashed car all would argue at the idea of the situation being one considered “small”.

Reflecting on the situation almost a year later has taught me so much about the responsibilities of driving and the importance of being cautious with every drive whether it be one across the country or just the street. From my personal experience, the main thing that I have learned is to be alert of the weather conditions happening around you, and be smart in the decision of whether it is worth it to drive or safe enough concerning the surrounding conditions.

I think that one of the least heard of or talked about topics concerning driver education is giving careful consideration to road conditions. Although it seems unimportant or even at times not a factor of safety when driving, even just a drizzle can drastically change how cars drive. Simply by drivers making smarter and wiser decisions on driving in certain weather conditions would reduce the amount of both major and minor accidents on the road. Personally, if I had made a more intelligent decision on when to drive, my accident could have been avoided, and although a minor one, a car accident is never a situation to be taken lightly. When speaking about the accident with the police officer that arrived on the scene just minutes later of it occurring, I was told by him something that I will never forget and that is that the conditions of which I was driving in, the minor fender bender could have been much more serious and damaging. This is true for most accidents with or without bad weather conditions, it could always be worse. However, the chances of an accident being worse are much higher under conditions we cannot control, which in my case, consisted of heavy rains and flash flood warnings, causing drivers like myself to not even be able to see ten feet in front of them.

Simply spreading awareness and making it a priority during driver education to consider weather conditions and being exposed to the dangers of what harsh conditions can bring to drivers, especially inexperienced ones, could very effectively change the way drivers think, leading to a noticeable change in the number of wrecks on the road annually. These are lessons that we have to continuously be reminded of, regardless of the amount of time one has spent driving or how great we think we have become at it. These are factors that we just can not control, and drivers must begin to realize that.

The instant fear that I felt, the rush of anxiety and nerves that went through my body, and the tears cried were all experiences that could have and should have been avoided. But with it came a newfound intelligence in driving, an increase of focus when behind the wheel, and a realization of responsibility while on the road. Two hundred and eighty million. A number that we must work together to reduce not only for the safety of ourselves but to the drivers around us. A lesson that we must teach to the following generations of teens, our kids, our grandkids. With the end goal of creating a safer society, and with the dream of never having to receive a phone call like I dreaded dialing to my parents, having to tell them that they had to come to get their little girl because of the trouble she had caused on that afternoon of April in 2021. Safer, smarter, and more careful, never again having to report the number of two hundred and eighty million.