Slow and Steady Wins the Race

By Sierra Williams

On February 29, 2018, I was heading down a path that will forever change my life. A path that was to take me to a babysitting job only a mile and a half from my home. A path that was made up of loose gravel and rock. A path that was a country road with steep ditches.

Even though I had only had my drivers license 6 weeks, due to taking a specialized drivers ed class that my parents had sent me to, I felt that I was an experienced driver. Part of that class is what I’m sure saved my life and kept me from being a teenage statistic. I had left my driveway after carefully putting on my seatbelt and properly adjusting my mirrors as instructed. Going only 35 miles per hour, I felt that I was driving a very safe speed. However, as my wheels began to lose traction on the rocks and I began to slide sideways, my confidence began to waver. I unfortunately tried to overcorrect the wheel and wound up going towards the ditch. When I went into the steep ditch, my front wheel hit the culvert causing my axle to break off and flipping my car upside down. It was a terrifying few seconds of my life which seemed like hours. After the car came to a halt on the top, I was left there hanging by my lifesaving seatbelt. I was able to take off my seatbelt and reach for my phone to call 911 for help.

My path down that rock road changed my life forever. I will always be an advocate for faithfully wearing a seatbelt as it saved my life that day, as well as promote that on loose rocks on dirt roads, you can never be too cautious. While I felt that 35 miles per hour was a safe speed, I now know that slow and steady always wins the race. My future path looks bright and safe, due to a scary path I learned a hard lesson on.