Bad things happen when you least expect it. Last October, I had a bad car accident with rippling effects on my health, relationships, sports, and academics. Around 9pm, I picked up my best friend (Sean) and another friend (Shane) to come to my house. I misjudged a curve on a dark, winding, country road, and crashed into the woods. My older car was totaled and two of us were injured. Sean was in the backseat, not wearing a seatbelt, and hit my chair and the dashboard. That caused me to slam into the searing wheel and broke my nose. Sean injured his neck and back. Shane, buckled up in the passenger seat, had no injuries. Fortunately, no other cars were involved in the accident. It was a sinking feeling to see Sean loaded into an ambulance and make that dreaded call to my family. Even worse, my parents were away, so my twin sister came to the scene of the accident and with me to the emergency department.
The accident changed many parts of my life. My relationship with Sean and his family was tense initially. Our other friends and their families treated me differently for a while. My parents were disappointed in my actions, paid unexpected bills, and lost a car. At school, I fell behind from missing classes for headaches, nose surgery, and doctor appointments. I couldn’t participate in my favorite activity of soccer or drive for a long time. People drove me places or I didn’t go.
I had a lot of time to reflect on my actions and the resulting hardships. I dealt with them by taking it step-by-step to address the parts of my life affected. I gave extra attention to Sean and visited him often while he recovered. I apologized to him and our families for the consequences. I talked with teachers about plans for make-up work. My English teacher, who had a head injury, was very sympathetic to what I was experiencing. I recognized the power of her kindness at that delicate time. I was able to get a face mask so I could safely restart soccer. After 3 close friends were in car accidents and totaled their cars, I was someone to confide in and help them work through their emotions.
As for driving, I started over gradually after a long break and took classes, including a proactive one. I first attended the first of 2 classes required for legal issues. These classes were full of nervous people including males and females of all ages and ethnicities. My classmates shared stories of bad accidents and excessive speeding. The teachers shared ways to improve driving and avoid accidents. Attending these classes was a wake-up call for me that I didn’t want to be part of that group or ever experience an accident again.
Around that time, my mom heard about a proactive driving program for teens called Put On The B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe https://putonthebrakes.org/). Luckily, I managed to get a spot at the training site in my city. It started out in a helicopter hanger with a highway patrol officer leading the class. He shared that B.R.A.K.E.S. was started by a race car driver, who lost his 2 sons to a head-on collision when his older son lost control of his SUV. To cope with his grief and help prevent teen accidents, he worked with companies, highway patrols, and other drivers to start this driving program across the U.S.
The officer started by sharing many statistics. It’s staggering that car crashes are a leading cause of death for US teens and higher among 16-19-year-olds than among any other age group. Teens in this age group have a ~3X higher rate of fatal car crashes per mile driven vs drivers aged 20+. He said this is because teen drivers lack experience and tend to overestimate their ability to handle dangerous driving situations. He asked us to look to our left and look to our right, and that statistically one of those teens would have a car accident before age 18. I had a sinking feeling knowing I was already one of those at age 16. He went on to share personal stories of knocking on parent’s doors at 2am to share that their child died in a car accident, and that he is part of this program because he doesn’t want to knock on more doors. The officer shared many practical tips on driving and interacting with officers, and even spoke to the parents about their role. I realized right away that this class was far different from the previous ones.
Then came the hands-on part of the class. Teens were grouped in pairs with an instructor and left to drive the provided cars. We took turns driving several maneuvers in the large training space including accelerating then fast braking while swerving right then left; driving through cones with proper hand position and repeating this with “drunk” goggles and distracting noises; and bringing the car back on road when off the shoulder. We then took it up a notch to drive with plastic shields on the back tires on wet pavement to simulate skidding and learned how to safely get out of the skid and regain control of the car. Those skills were especially important to me since better control on curves and getting back on the road could have made a difference in my accident.
Additionally, we went into a Breath Alcohol Testing mobile unit and learned about these testing labs, the magistrate’s courtroom in the back, and consequences of these offenses. I also sat in the driver’s seat of a semi-tractor truck and saw how hard it was to see cars parked beside it. I then did a semi-truck driver simulation to experience the difficulty of stopping quickly.
I gained many important learnings and actions for myself over this past year. I learned that new driver education programs need to go beyond the minimum state-requirements and include hands-on training to improve skills and to reduce the number of teen accidents. The officer shared that B.R.A.K.E.S. class graduates are 64% less likely to have a car crash in their first 3 years of driving. Other steps include being mindful to drive at or below the speed limit, limit distractions in the car (e.g. loud music and talking, 2+ people in the car), and never drive after drinking alcohol or when overtired. Teens should have an agreement with parents and/or siblings to pick them up from a party if needed; and have the Uber or Lyft app if there isn’t a safe driver to get them.
My friends and I learned first-hand the impact of not wearing a seat belt from Sean’s injuries. I don’t drive until everyone is buckled up, including in the back seat, and I’m mentally ready. I also limit distractions and scan my surroundings way more. I recommended the B.R.A.K.E.S. class to my sisters and friends, and many have already completed it and really liked it. I will always remember how to handle a car in these common situations and have increased respect for truck drivers and the highway patrol. I hope these programs grow across the country to help provide proactive hand-on learning to other teens.
I know many people write about car accidents and statistics, but I think I’m different because I took major steps to prevent it from happening again. I don’t not take the privilege and responsibility of driving for granted. I matured as a person and became a better and safer driver by dealing with the effects of my accident. I also learned that life is truly fragile.
Short summary:
Bad things happen when you least expect it. I learned from having a bad car accident with rippling effects on my health, relationships, sports, and academics. I want to share the steps I took over the past year and my learnings to help other teens and young adults.
The accident changed many parts of my life. My relationship with Sean and his family was tense initially. Our other friends and their families treated me differently for a while. My parents were disappointed in my actions, paid unexpected bills, and lost a car. At school, I fell behind from missing classes for headaches, nose surgery, and doctor appointments. I couldn’t participate in my favorite activity of soccer or drive for a long time. People drove me places or I didn’t go.
I had a lot of time to reflect on my actions and the resulting hardships. I dealt with them by taking it step-by-step to address the parts of my life affected. I gave extra attention to Sean and visited him often while he recovered. I apologized to him and our families for the consequences. I talked with teachers about plans for make-up work. My English teacher, who had a head injury, was very sympathetic to what I was experiencing. I recognized the power of her kindness at that delicate time. I was able to get a face mask so I could safely restart soccer. After 3 close friends were in car accidents and totaled their cars, I was someone to confide in and help them work through their emotions.
As for driving, I started over gradually after a long break and took classes, including a proactive one. I first attended the first of 2 classes required for legal issues. These classes were full of nervous people including males and females of all ages and ethnicities. My classmates shared stories of bad accidents and excessive speeding. The teachers shared ways to improve driving and avoid accidents. Attending these classes was a wake-up call for me that I didn’t want to be part of that group or ever experience an accident again.
Around that time, my mom heard about a proactive driving program for teens called Put On The B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe https://putonthebrakes.org/). Luckily, I managed to get a spot at the training site in my city. It started out in a helicopter hanger with a highway patrol officer leading the class. He shared that B.R.A.K.E.S. was started by a race car driver, who lost his 2 sons to a head-on collision when his older son lost control of his SUV. To cope with his grief and help prevent teen accidents, he worked with companies, highway patrols, and other drivers to start this driving program across the U.S.
The officer started by sharing many statistics. It’s staggering that car crashes are a leading cause of death for US teens and higher among 16-19-year-olds than among any other age group. Teens in this age group have a ~3X higher rate of fatal car crashes per mile driven vs drivers aged 20+. He said this is because teen drivers lack experience and tend to overestimate their ability to handle dangerous driving situations. He asked us to look to our left and look to our right, and that statistically one of those teens would have a car accident before age 18. I had a sinking feeling knowing I was already one of those at age 16. He went on to share personal stories of knocking on parent’s doors at 2am to share that their child died in a car accident, and that he is part of this program because he doesn’t want to knock on more doors. The officer shared many practical tips on driving and interacting with officers, and even spoke to the parents about their role. I realized right away that this class was far different from the previous ones.
Then came the hands-on part of the class. Teens were grouped in pairs with an instructor and left to drive the provided cars. We took turns driving several maneuvers in the large training space including accelerating then fast braking while swerving right then left; driving through cones with proper hand position and repeating this with “drunk” goggles and distracting noises; and bringing the car back on road when off the shoulder. We then took it up a notch to drive with plastic shields on the back tires on wet pavement to simulate skidding and learned how to safely get out of the skid and regain control of the car. Those skills were especially important to me since better control on curves and getting back on the road could have made a difference in my accident.
Additionally, we went into a Breath Alcohol Testing mobile unit and learned about these testing labs, the magistrate’s courtroom in the back, and consequences of these offenses. I also sat in the driver’s seat of a semi-tractor truck and saw how hard it was to see cars parked beside it. I then did a semi-truck driver simulation to experience the difficulty of stopping quickly.
I gained many important learnings and actions for myself over this past year. I learned that new driver education programs need to go beyond the minimum state-requirements and include hands-on training to improve skills and to reduce the number of teen accidents. The officer shared that B.R.A.K.E.S. class graduates are 64% less likely to have a car crash in their first 3 years of driving. Other steps include being mindful to drive at or below the speed limit, limit distractions in the car (e.g. loud music and talking, 2+ people in the car), and never drive after drinking alcohol or when overtired. Teens should have an agreement with parents and/or siblings to pick them up from a party if needed; and have the Uber or Lyft app if there isn’t a safe driver to get them.
My friends and I learned first-hand the impact of not wearing a seat belt from Sean’s injuries. I don’t drive until everyone is buckled up, including in the back seat, and I’m mentally ready. I also limit distractions and scan my surroundings way more. I recommended the B.R.A.K.E.S. class to my sisters and friends, and many have already completed it and really liked it. I will always remember how to handle a car in these common situations and have increased respect for truck drivers and the highway patrol. I hope these programs grow across the country to help provide proactive hand-on learning to other teens.
I know many people write about car accidents and statistics, but I think I’m different because I took major steps to prevent it from happening again. I don’t not take the privilege and responsibility of driving for granted. I matured as a person and became a better and safer driver by dealing with the effects of my accident. I also learned that life is truly fragile.
Short summary:
Bad things happen when you least expect it. I learned from having a bad car accident with rippling effects on my health, relationships, sports, and academics. I want to share the steps I took over the past year and my learnings to help other teens and young adults.
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