What I've Learned

I jolt awake from my dad’s voice downstairs. It’s 7:00 in the morning and I’m supposed to be leaving in five minutes. I get ready for school in a frenzy, as usual, and I jump into my car, thinking about the English homework I need to finish. I take the same route I’ve taken every single day for the past four years. As I approach the stop sign at the end of the road, I slow to a quick stop and then inch out. My groggy brain sees a car coming up on the left, but they have a stop sign too so I begin making my turn. The next thing I know the car is right in front of me, and then the air bag and the most putrid smell of smoke. I’m pressing the brake so hard, but the car keeps accelerating. Ten minutes ago, I was asleep. Now I’m stuck in an out-of-control car headed into oncoming traffic. My brain turns on again and I’m able to pull over and shut the car off. When I get out and look at my car, I am speechless. The lights are dangling from the front, all wires exposed, and the license plate is completely hidden within the crumbling metal.

I was lucky. Accidents like these happen every single day, especially with new drivers, and many people aren’t as fortunate as I was to walk away without serious injury. I practiced driving with my parents for months, took drivers ed at my school last year, and passed my road test on the first try. I wish I could say that practice makes perfect when it comes to driving; that if you have a lot of experience on the road, you will never be in an accident. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. Drivers need to constantly be on the lookout for others who are driving unsafely to take precautionary measures to prevent an accident.

Drivers ed is necessary for new drivers to become acquainted with the rules of the road and to learn how to react in certain driving scenarios. However, what’s most important for new drivers to remember is that every time they sit in the driver’s seat, the lives of everyone in their vehicle and in every other vehicle they encounter are at risk. Distracted driving doesn’t always take the forms that are most frequently publicized, like drinking or texting while driving. Other possibly fatal mistakes, like driving while tired, upset, eating, adjusting music, or talking to passengers need to be emphasized more in drivers ed courses to reduce the number of deaths related to driving.

After the crash, I’ve learned that the most important part of driving is to remain completely aware and focused on your surroundings. Now, every time I get in the driver’s seat, I remind myself to pay attention to the road at all times, because that I know that any mistake that I make can be fatal.