Superstition or Reality

Superstition or Reality

November 26, 2018, I woke up with a strange feeling. It was a regular winter morning in Omaha, Nebraska. The air was crisp the roads were slick with ice. I put on my light pink Reeboks and headed out the door. I hopped in my sister’s car. She went on to tell me she moved my seat back that morning. I didn’t care. As we drove through a neighborhood on our way to school, we saw a black cat ahead of us. It stopped directly in front of us and just stared. My sister and I looked at each other. We knew what that meant, bad news. We were told that if a black cat crosses the path ahead of us, it is bad luck. My sister and I debated if we should hop out of the car and walk ten steps back to undo the bad luck, but we continued on our way to school. Less than a minute away from our school, we approach a stoplight. We waited until it turned green and continued until we got smacked by a van. Hot chocolate and glass pieces flew everywhere in the car. I woke up in my seat leaned away from the impact. I shook my sister to wake her up. She had bruises on her legs and wrists. We both had glass in our hair and clothes. I was fine, just was shaken up. After the crash scene cleared I got out of the car and looked down to see my pink Reeboks covered in hot chocolate. I backed up to look at the crash. Thankfully my sister adjusted my seat or else I could have seriously gotten more injured. On the ride to the hospital, I could only think about the black cat that crossed our path. Was it a coincidence? What would have happened if we never saw the cat?

Later we learned the van driver was reckless by texting and driving. Knowing that a simple action such as texting had caused trauma for me was infuriating. I believe that we have the resources and technology to address texting and driving. In every phone, there should be a setting that automatically comes on when it senses a movement such as driving. Once it detects if a person is driving, then it should switch notifications to be read aloud. Drivers should have the ability to hear their messages being read and send their messages without taking their eyes off the road or hands off the wheel. If we had technology like that, maybe I would have never got in that car crash years ago.

I have been driving for about a year now. I swore to avoid driving recklessly. The car crash influenced my driving in many ways. I am more cautious of speeding cars and of drivers that are distracted. I promise myself I am going to limit the possibility of texting and driving or driving while under the influence. Both actions are dangerous and can result in serious consequences. I pay attention to stoplights, and I never rush through them. I am always cautious when I drive in the winter. The accident taught me a hard lesson that I needed to learn. Both my sister and I drive differently to avoid another bad car crash. I would never want to put anyone through the trauma of a bad car crash. I will never do what the person driving the van did to my sister and me on that morning.

To be a better driver I hold myself and others accountable. Whenever my loved ones text and drive it makes me feel uneasy. I side-eye them until they get the hint. If they never do, I politely remind them to focus on the road. Passengers should not be scared of checking their driver. They intend to keep everyone safe. I believe if more passengers were inclined to speak up a lot of lives would be saved. Driver education should include passenger responsibilities along with driver responsibilities.

Driver education must be taught. Driver education saves lives every day. Millions of people use heavy machinery by driving their cars. Understanding how to properly operate your car can keep people young, old, rich, and poor safe. I believe it is important to also promote that driving is a privilege rather than a right. If more people understand driving is a privilege then they would take advantage of the privilege and avoid having it revoked. Driver education keeps you and me safe every time we get on the road. It should never be avoided but always be taught to new drivers.