I obtained my farmer's permit during my first year in high school, which in turn allowed me to drive at a younger age than most kids. Although my parents allowed me to drive by myself, I was given strict instructions to ensure my safety and that of the people around me. Some of these instructions included wearing my seatbelt, watching my surroundings, not being on my phone while driving, and, most importantly, not driving under the influence. The number of people who die from driving under the influence per year is 11,000 people (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2022). My mother almost became one of these statistics when she was in high school.
When my mother was a freshman in high school, she and a group of friends, including three girls and two guys a year older than her, went cruising around town and the country. I know from experience that living in a small town dramatically limits the number of activities you and your friends can do, making cruising around town a top choice. While cruising, one of the guys my mother was with suggested stopping by another friend's house in another city called Satanta, around 15 minutes west of Sublette. While there, my mother and her friends were all offered beers and started drinking while the two guys went into a back bedroom. A little while later, they needed to leave the house to return to town before curfew. Still, instead of driving on the highway that took them the fastest way back to Sublette, the driver stated that he must take the county roads because he believed cops were following them due to listening to a police scanner on the radio. My mother, being mostly sober, knew this wasn't true and that the driver was acting extremely paranoid.
The driver soon began to speed up, fearing that the "cops" were going to catch up to him, and my mother and the other girls with her started to argue with him and try to convince him that he was acting delusional and to slow down and stop. By this time, my mother and her friends realized that the driver had consumed something more than alcohol and became highly concerned for their safety. The driver then turned off his headlights, stating that the "cops are right behind us and had shut off their headlights, so we must do the same." My mother then remembers looking at the dashboard and seeing that they were now going 90mph and telling her friends to quickly put their seatbelts on and put on her own. A few seconds later, the driver hit a curve in the road that he could not see due to turning off his headlights, and the car began to roll.
When my mother became conscious again, she remembered looking up and seeing all her friends standing outside her door. Unfortunately, just before my mother became conscious, the boys decided to leave her, but her girlfriends were desperately trying to convince them not to. The car was on its top, so my mother was hanging upside down when the diver kicked out her window and threw glass all over her to free her from the car. They then had to help her out of her seatbelt since she had to push herself up to get the pressure off the belt. Due to not having phones during this period, my mother and her friends were left with no choice but to walk towards the town, where they had just gone in 8-degree weather and were not found by cops until sunrise.
My mother was left with severe frostbite on the sides of her stomach that took her skin years to get over, a concussion, and a blown pupil. To this day, my mother stresses to me the importance of wearing a seatbelt and not driving under the influence because if it wasn't for God looking over her, she and her friends could have had more severe injuries or potentially lost their lives. This story has also encouraged my siblings and me to offer rides to those who are drinking and to convince them not to drive while under the influence. Although we are not successful often, there have been a few instances where they have accepted our offer. So before I finish this essay, I want to encourage everyone out there who is reading this to wear seatbelts and make responsible decisions because you never know if you might wake up hanging upside down in your car.
When my mother was a freshman in high school, she and a group of friends, including three girls and two guys a year older than her, went cruising around town and the country. I know from experience that living in a small town dramatically limits the number of activities you and your friends can do, making cruising around town a top choice. While cruising, one of the guys my mother was with suggested stopping by another friend's house in another city called Satanta, around 15 minutes west of Sublette. While there, my mother and her friends were all offered beers and started drinking while the two guys went into a back bedroom. A little while later, they needed to leave the house to return to town before curfew. Still, instead of driving on the highway that took them the fastest way back to Sublette, the driver stated that he must take the county roads because he believed cops were following them due to listening to a police scanner on the radio. My mother, being mostly sober, knew this wasn't true and that the driver was acting extremely paranoid.
The driver soon began to speed up, fearing that the "cops" were going to catch up to him, and my mother and the other girls with her started to argue with him and try to convince him that he was acting delusional and to slow down and stop. By this time, my mother and her friends realized that the driver had consumed something more than alcohol and became highly concerned for their safety. The driver then turned off his headlights, stating that the "cops are right behind us and had shut off their headlights, so we must do the same." My mother then remembers looking at the dashboard and seeing that they were now going 90mph and telling her friends to quickly put their seatbelts on and put on her own. A few seconds later, the driver hit a curve in the road that he could not see due to turning off his headlights, and the car began to roll.
When my mother became conscious again, she remembered looking up and seeing all her friends standing outside her door. Unfortunately, just before my mother became conscious, the boys decided to leave her, but her girlfriends were desperately trying to convince them not to. The car was on its top, so my mother was hanging upside down when the diver kicked out her window and threw glass all over her to free her from the car. They then had to help her out of her seatbelt since she had to push herself up to get the pressure off the belt. Due to not having phones during this period, my mother and her friends were left with no choice but to walk towards the town, where they had just gone in 8-degree weather and were not found by cops until sunrise.
My mother was left with severe frostbite on the sides of her stomach that took her skin years to get over, a concussion, and a blown pupil. To this day, my mother stresses to me the importance of wearing a seatbelt and not driving under the influence because if it wasn't for God looking over her, she and her friends could have had more severe injuries or potentially lost their lives. This story has also encouraged my siblings and me to offer rides to those who are drinking and to convince them not to drive while under the influence. Although we are not successful often, there have been a few instances where they have accepted our offer. So before I finish this essay, I want to encourage everyone out there who is reading this to wear seatbelts and make responsible decisions because you never know if you might wake up hanging upside down in your car.
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