Realization

It
was a cold, dark night in February. My parents and sister were out of
town for one of her science competitions, so I took my brother for
sushi and a movie. As we left the restaurant and got in the car, I
told my brother to pull up directions to the theater. I pulled out of
the parking lot and rolled up behind a car in the left turn lane.

A
click and the arrow flashes green. Then, “BOOM!” Time stops. It
was like something out of a movie. I felt my knees buckle, then it
hit me. The airbags explode like fireworks. The smell of smoke rushed
into my nostrils and set aflame in my belly. I rushed for the door
handle and screamed my brother’s name. It was stuck. I turned and
kicked as hard as I could until the door flew open. I looked over and
my brother looked startled. He started to scream and searched for his
door handle. His door was stuck too. I ran around the car and pulled
the door handle as hard as I could. It felt like an eternity for only
a matter of seconds. I managed to release the door and get my brother
out from behind the airbags. We were lucky to leave the crash with
only some minor injuries. The woman that drove her car into mine had
sped through a red light. The street was dark and she did not have
her headlights on. She had totaled my new first car.

After
the accident, I had no idea what to do. Who do I talk to? What to
say? Should I stop a witness? What do I do with my car?

These
were just some of the questions that I was not adequately prepared
for during driver training. Sure there was plenty about how to
approach a railroad crossing, what to do when you see a pedestrian
and a whole lesson about street signs. However, There was no mention
of what I should do as a new driver when I get in an accident.
Throughout my experience, I was not only in shock but I was confused.
By the time I got ahold of my parents for instruction, It was too
late. This traumatic experience as a new driver will stay with me
forever. It will act as a lesson for the future.

However,
I don’t think that this should be the normal for teenage drivers.
There needs to be a change in driving to the curriculum to not only
focus on the right thing to do but what to do when things go wrong.
This was just one area where I feel I was severely underprepared. An
accident is also an area that I feel new drivers should not learn the
protocol for during the experience.