And Then The Airbag Deployed

On a Tuesday evening in early March, following an early let-out from work which I planned to fill with a thrift trip in preparation for an upcoming Spring Break trip to Greece, my life changed. As I jammed to The Carters’ “APESHIT” going down the street, excited to flagrantly spend my money for a Cretan dream, nothing could ruin the moment. 

Within a second, my airbag deployed. 

As I searched for my glasses in hopes that those too, as any future plans, had not shattered—-I mentally tried to rewind the clock 5 seconds before my first car accident. 

Digging into the side of the driver's seat, I luckily recovered an unbroken pair of glasses. Now I could fully see the aftermath of what lay before me, through an equally unshattered windshield. 

As out of a movie scene, the next few hours moved at an oxymoronic quick-slow pace. I stepped out of my beloved 1991 Buick Riviera to see cars paused behind me and others continuing their journey home. Glass scattered the pavement, thick oil leaked profusely from the engine, and the hood of my Valentina was bent and twisted beyond the mathematical 90 degree. Finally I gathered the courage to look at the other party, a stunned UPS driver examining his barely scraped vehicle, but potentially our last moments. 

The arrival of the police further stunned my nervous system.

The rest of the day became a personality battle between an independent 21-year old and a scared little girl who wanted Daddy to handle everything. 

If only I had the ability to rewind the clock, I would’ve paid a bit more attention to the solid green light at the intersection instead of dancing to a Beyonce bridge. 

There is not a single known reasoning as to why the UPS driver and I left the accident unscathed. Nor is there any solid explanation for the “simple” collision it turned out to be. Yet there is someone inexplicably at fault—me. 

Although the ticket documented my speed at 5 MPH during the turn and I can undeniably recall shifting my blinker, my mind was not on the road nor behind the wheel. Instead, giddiness due to being released early from work clouded my judgement. Giddiness not intelligence encouraged me to play a rhythmic yet distracting song for a 10-minute car ride. It was pure excitement to be in a plane headed towards Greece rather than pure focus in my vehicle on the road headed home which significantly contributed to my collision. 

Growing up, while taking Driver’s Ed courses my mom would cite her multiple rounds of written driving test—one question in particular. What is the greatest cause for car accidents? And without fail, my mom has always corrected her answer to “Human Error”. 

 

As humans we choose to play loud music or create green arrows where there were none. We are behind the decision to partake in substances and drive or balance an argument while on the highway. 

Therefore as humans it is our responsibility to truly recognize the fact that we along with thousands of others are operating a deadly metal machine within tight spaces and curves. The aforementioned deadly metal machine may be under your control, but it’s effects are not. It is the driver’s utmost responsibility—-senior in high school and senior citizen—to realize that maintaining mental focus on your task at hand unknowingly lengthens the life of you, your passengers, and the surrounding cars. 

That fateful Tuesday, may have been my very last and that caused an immense perspective for me to think about every morning I've woken up, and every single time I pass the intersection.