Picture Imperfect

Picture this: it’s a cold, snowy day where everything in Northern Indiana looks gray and bleak. Nothing astounding is happening, everyone driving past each other in their own world, rushing to get from one destination to another. Let’s zoom in to one of the cars, traveling along an icy road, going 10 under. In the car, there are 3 people, a mom and her two daughters. The daughters are only a year old, twins just brought into this world. They’re happy and excited, going to pick up their older brother and sister from daycare. Little did they know that within a singular moment, their entire day would change. Let’s zoom back out. Imagine this car, a Honda minivan to give more context, creeping along the icy road, keeping the inhabitants of the car safe from the outside monsters of the world. As you’re picturing this, an SUV driving with flat tires comes racing down the road, speeding and sliding across the entire road, not caring who was in the way. One moment, the happy family had no cares in the world, the next their entire world shattered as glass spilled down on top of them, metal twisting and groaning, the cold air rushing inside a no longer peaceful entity. The smell of burning rubber lingering in the air, disturbing the quiet of the Indiana winter outside, the silence of the aftermath spreading around the two cars now intertwined. You’re picturing this, but what if this was someone’s reality? What if this was someone’s phone call that morning, letting them know that their children and wife were in a car accident and their newly paid off vehicle was completely ruined? What if this wasn’t just a story to picture, but a scenario that happened, uprooting an entire family’s life, leaving a father wondering if his family was alright? The sad part about it is that this is a story, but it’s my story, one that I get to share with the world. While I was not in the car that morning, I was old enough to understand what was going on when my dad showed up to pick me up from daycare instead of my mom, with a look of utter distraught covering his entire face. I was the older sibling that was waiting ever so patiently to be picked up, only to get my entire world thrown through the window. That was a time that I will never forget, the fear consuming me at such a young age. Driver education is so important for that reason, pushing people to understand the dangers of driving and the consequences of driving while your vehicle is not ready, especially in the winter months. The number of crashes that Indiana sees in the wintertime is exceedingly high and many of those crashes result in the death of a person. The person who was driving the vehicle that hit my family did not have a license, and never took a course of drivers ed before jumping on the road, not realizing until it was too late that a tire of his was completely blown out. This is why drivers’ education is so important; without it, crashes happen, people continue to get hurt, and the accident that should have killed my family wouldn’t have happened. Whether it be distracted driving or blown tires, there are so many steps that can be taken to prevent deaths related to driving. In this instance, the driver should have checked to make sure his tires were okay before getting in the vehicle, even though he never should have been in the vehicle in the first place without a license. If he had checked his tires, I would not be writing this right now. Phone usage is also a huge issue when it comes to driving, causing more deaths per year than regular vehicular accidents. Phone usage is prominent in today’s society because of the advancements that technology showcases. Just put the phone down. It is not hard to put the phone down, turn on the radio, and drive comfortably, especially with other people in the car. There are some instances where looking at your phone is beneficial, such as using your GPS, but even in that instance, choose common sense and put it on a phone stand so you aren’t tempted to text and drive. This is one thing that I believe everyone needs to work on, especially the younger generation. Technology surrounds us, mocking our very existence with the prominence of it all. It’s everywhere. There is more technology in cars now than there is in most homes. Take Tesla for example. Tesla’s are cars that you don’t even need to put your hands on the wheel, but that doesn’t mean that you should do that. Those cars are just as dangerous, and distracted driving can still prove to be true with them. Imagine if the guy who hit my family was driving a Tesla with a blew out tire. The same thing would have happened due to the icy roads. A lot of accidents can be prevented. Most of them have to do with distracted drivers, but with the capability to remove devices from our hands, we can create a safer driving environment. Life is better when people are alive, but everyone needs to work together to create that safe driving environment that will reduce the number of accidents happening. Use the picture of that man ramming into my family to create a better driving environment if you must. Nobody should have to get those type of calls, leaving their family heartbroken and crushed.