Last year, I experienced a severe accident. My boyfriend, our friend Sammy, and I were driving back from the beach. We decided to make a last-minute trip to . It's in San Diego. We had just watched Top Gun Maverick a couple days prior and felt it would be a fun trip since we didn't live too far. We spent almost the whole day there. We had all been at the beach since three, and it was six when we began the drive home. We all loaded up into my friend's Ford. I was sitting in the backseat, positioned in the middle to help me hear them better. My boyfriend was in the passenger seat, and Sammy was the driver since my boyfriend had driven earlier in the day. We still needed to make the 2-hour drive back, and we were starving. We discussed our options for a while, then decided on pizza since we could eat it on the way home and ordered ahead. Out of nowhere, I heard my boyfriend yell, "Sammy, look out." Sammy swerved the car as much as he could in that second to avoid the hit, but there was no hope the other driver had been going too fast. It all happened so quickly. I turned to look out my window, and all I saw were headlights. We had gone from one second casually enjoying the view and discussing our dinner plans to spinning out. I slid across the back seat. I had been wearing my seat belt, as I always do, but this time it didn't help. The car only had the bottom strap for the middle seat. The impact was on the back driver-side fender, missing the tire by 2 inches. If Sammy didn't swerve, the collision would have hit the tire, and we could have flipped. The weight of the impact had all hit where I was sitting. I slammed my elbow into the door panel. I couldn't feel my arm when I opened my eyes. We were on the center divider. I was so scared. How did this happen so fast? We weren't even going fast. It didn't make sense. A driver had been waiting at a stop light and thought they could make it if they gassed it across the intersection. Our stop light was green, and we were already driving. I thought how nice it was to get two green lights in a row. So we kept going, thinking we were safe. All due to another driver's lack of driving education, we were stuck on the center divider. I injured my arm and still have pain to this day. My friend needed therapy and refused to drive anywhere for months after. That's the importance of driver education. Not being impatient and thinking, '' I can make it if I go faster.'' Not only did this driver put our lives in danger, but her own. I will never forget that day. It makes me more cautious now. Even if my light is green, I slow down and watch significantly more. I warn family and friends to do the same. Steps I feel others can take to reduce the number of deaths related to driving are to slow down, not be in a rush, and become impatient. Waiting those 5 minutes at a light can save your life and someone's family member. We walked away that day, thankfully, but what if we hadn't? I think of the family members of the driver every time I am on the road if my being a little more cautious brings someone home. I will take those steps. Negligent drivers on the road are what cause so many accidents. So next time you find yourself driving in a hurry to get to that business meeting or make it on time to get the kids or to that appointment. Think to yourself, is it better to get there late or never get there at all? The steps I am always taking now are being vigilant of all drivers. Even if I know I have the right of way, I still am cautious. I wish that day didn't happen for all of us. It had ripple effects throughout our lives. I wonder if she feels the same. I wonder if she became a safer driver after that experience. I will never know if none of us will, but I can only hope she learned as much as we did to help keep other drivers safe and herself.