Name: Paige Canterbury
From: Clifton Park, NY
Votes: 0
Last winter I was
forced to endure the lengthy and boring classes known as Driver
Education. At the time, I never really paid attention because I was
just focused on going home after a long day at school. What I didn’t
know at the time was that the information that was bestowed upon me
at these Drivers ed classes would one day save not only my
life, but the lives of other drivers as well.
Everyone always
thinks that they will never be the people who are involved in a car
crash, myself included. But I am here to tell you that everyone will
be a part of a car crash throughout their lifetime.
My
first crash was a clear, sunny day in April right after my birthday.
I was meeting my mom at the local shoe store after school to pick out
a pair of shoes for my birthday present. I went to park my car and I
ran the car straight into one of the cement poles that they keep in
the parking lots to light them up at night. I was okay but my car was
not, and I didn’t want to admit to my parents what had happened.
Finally, when my mom arrived she noticed the dent and yellow paint on
the front right of my bumper and assured me that everything was going
to be okay and that my safety was the most important thing.
Fast
forward a couple of months, and I had a near miss car crash. It was
the first snowfall of the year and I was on my way to pick up my
friends for school. I was headed towards a big intersection and I did
not realize how icy and slick the roads actually were. I was gaining
speed approaching the red light and could not get my vehicle to stop.
I finally decided to swerve off the road to avoid the car in front of
me because it seemed like it was the better option.
A
couple of days after my near miss, I was called to the principal’s
office and informed that my car had been hit in the school parking
lot and a witness had reported it. My car had been hit in the exact
same spot that I had hit the pole in. While in the principal’s
office, the student who hit my car was in there as well. Our school’s
resource officer had to explain to her the consequences and
repercussions of what she did because it was considered a hit and run
since she was not the individual that reported the accident.
Thankfully I was not in any trouble, but it put me into another scary
situation.
In
all of these instances, there were examples of unsafe driving that
could have ended up worse than it did. Thanks to the Drivers ed
class, I knew what to do and how to handle myself and other people in
all of these situations.
