On the drive to go prom dress shopping with my mother, I received an alert from my dad’s smartwatch. It said that a crash was detected and 911 was called and gave me his last known location. My usually calm and rational mother swung the car around screaming words that I could not repeat in polite company. I called my dad to no answer and kept calling to no avail. Until an EMS worker answered the call for him. I heard of my father’s critical condition and possible airlift to Strong hospital while the moans and groans of my father who I had never even heard cry before engraved themselves in my mind forever. During this phone call my mother was pulled over for speeding. Upon hearing the urgent situation, the officer let us continue to attempt to make it to him and find out more information than the staticky phone call offered. When we arrived at the scene I tried my best to stay calm as I saw my dad’s car crushed and under the wheel of an oil truck. Emergency responders had already pulled him out and had him in an ambulance while a helicopter landed in a nearby field to take him to the hospital. He eventually made a full recovery but couldn’t drive for a couple of months for fear of more damage to his ribs from a steering wheel. For those months my mother and I drove him to various doctors appointments and physical therapy sessions and I don’t think either of us had ever driven as carefully as we did in the months to follow the accident. The accident occurred when an oil truck signaled to turn left but actually turned right. It could have been avoided completely if he had taken a second to weigh the possible consequences to the time saved by passing on the right. In driver’s education I learned that a driver should never pass a car on the right. Proper and accessible drivers education can help reduce accidents and make the roads safer. I try to make the roads safer by following the rules of the road that I learned in drivers education. This may sound like the bare minimum but it takes restraint to follow even simple passing rules when you are stuck behind a horse and buggy going up a hill when you are late to school. It is frustrating but passing in this situation would be blind and dangerous.
Vehicular accidents can also be reduced by being stricter when internally analyzing one’s ability to drive. Most people know not to drive when visually impaired, under the influence of substances, intoxicated or taking medication that slows reaction time. However the lesser known cause of slowed reaction time is lack of sleep. Tired people have a slowed reaction time and decreased decision making skills. My father’s crash happened early in the morning as he was driving back from breakfast with my brother. In the morning I have seen him and others make stupid mistakes such as putting the cereal box in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard. If people can be that careless in their own home then they should not be on the road with a lack of sleep. This involves early morning drives or late night commutes. A temporary fix to this is to drink something with caffeine such as coffee, tea, or an energy drink. The issue with this solution is that it is temporary and caffeine can cause negative side effects. Too much caffeine can make a person jumpy and make rash decisions. This impaired decision making means that a person chugging energy drinks to stay alert may be just as impaired as someone tired and sluggish. Instead of not reacting quick enough they may be too quick without thinking and over correct. If something is on the road a tired person may not stop or move out of the way fast enough. While someone who consumed too much caffeine may swerve off the road or into traffic and not think of the consequences. Both situations put everyone on the road in danger. The best solution to tired driving is to stop and rest. I try to be a safe driver by analyzing my level of alertness before driving. When I got back into town at 1 a.m. from a school trip I realized I was tired. So instead of driving home I walked to a nearby friend's house and spent the night on their couch and drove safely and well rested in the morning. Safe drivers are alert and educated.