Behind the Wheel

August, 19 2022 two weeks before my 17th birthday. I left my house to go to school. It was my Senior year of high school and I was headed to my two classes of the day. I had colored paper and all the supplies I needed for a project. When I got behind the wheel that morning I had no idea I would later wake up on the side of the road. I took the same route I had taken to my high school for over a year. I pulled up to the stop sign, looked both ways, pulled up further and checked again to make sure I could see over the corn. I started to pull onto the road and as I was turning I saw a car flying at my door. I later woke up in the car with the airbags deployed and glass shattered. I woke up hearing my car saying over and over, “calling emergency services, calling emergency services.” I quickly unbuckled to get out of the vehicle. Both doors on the driver’s side were completely caved in and I couldn’t open them. I crawled over to the passenger side and crawled out. I never made it to school that day. Instead I was in the hospital all day. I had multiple injuries from the accident along with severe driving anxiety. A year later these issues still bother me on a daily basis.

A few months after my accident I was starting to feel a little better even being a passenger in the car. I was out with some friends when I got a text. It was about someone from my hometown that I used to go to church with. He was driving a friend and himself home from college for the weekend. Both him and his friend passed away in a horrific accident involving a semi truck. He was only 18, a year older than me and in his first year of college. All of my close friends were absolutely devastated. I don’t remember what the excuse was of the semi driver, but it was not enough to bring them back. I think that not a lot of people pay attention as much as they should when driving a vehicle. Whether that be from being tired, being on your phone, your mind is just distracted, the list can go on and on. I think that it is very important to turn your phone off while driving; and to not drive if you are intoxicated, tired, upset, or angry. People don’t understand the severity of an accident occurring until it is already too late. It’s not worth the risk.

I think that we should be more strict with educating drivers before allowing them to receive a permit or license. If people had more education before being allowed to be on the road, everyone would be a lot safer. I remember during my online training to obtain my permit that they had a lot of videos of people talking about fatal accidents to try and teach new drivers just how serious this issue is. I think there needs to be more of these videos shown, especially in school. The videos are pretty severe, but the consequences of not learning before and making those mistakes yourself are much worse. Then people will reflect on the videos before making a possibly deadly decision. I think people also need to be educated on how to deal with an accident if one occurs. People need to be aware of all the bills, time, and how mentally draining it is to be involved in one. Educating drivers is one of the most important factors in decreasing the number of accidents.

Reckless driving also needs to be taken more seriously. Reckless driving occurs when someone is driving a vehicle with disregard for the safety of persons or property. Reckless driving can be running a red light, illegally passing another driver, not stopping at a stop sign among many more. Speeding is another frequent form of reckless driving that is often overlooked. It’s not worth speeding anywhere because you are risking never arriving at the place you are going. You are also putting other people’s lives at risk. If someone gets a speeding ticket they are less likely to speed again. Road rage is another common issue that is seen on a daily basis. I see examples every time I am in the car, such as tailgating, cutting in front of people, following another car, or even offensive hand gestures. People may see these as less harmful, but they can turn into something so much more dangerous. In general police need to be more strict on harmful behaviors like these.This will decrease how often these incidents occur, and overall lessen the amount of accidents.

Since the accident I haven’t been driving much. When I do I also have my phone away from me in the car, and also make sure before I turn on my car that my phone is on “do not disturb”. I have never been tempted to look at my phone while driving because I am an incredibly anxious person. However, it helps me from letting my mind wander if I get a notification and hear my phone going off while driving. I help my friends and family a lot while I’m in the car with them to help navigate, text, or call for them while they are driving so that they don’t have to do it themselves. Not to mention a lot of my friends started driving a lot more cautiously after what happened to me. I was talking with my friend one day and they said “I’m so glad that you’re alive, and that we didn’t have to put up a cross on the side of the road for you”. Those words gave me the chills and made me feel like a ghost for a second, imagining what could’ve happened. Don’t let that be your story.