Unsafe Driving: The Whiplash Imposed on My Family

Unsafe Driving: The Whiplash Imposed on My Family

This was a special morning. My brother had a dentist appointment later in the day, so mom took us to school. This was a rare treat and was way better than the bumpy smelly bus we usually got the privilege of taking to school. I was in sixth grade, with no sense of style and no idea how to do my hair. My brother, in eighth grade, still had a pitchy voice and was still in the middle of his ‘skater-phase’. He was supposed to leave for his dentist appointment, but mom never came back to get him. While we were mindlessly sitting in class, our mom was scared and in pain in the emergency room.

This morning was a crisp, slightly chilly, Pueblo West day in November. The sun was shining in from the east. At about 7:30 am, the sun is especially blinding. After dropping us off at school, my mom turned left to head back to the house for a couple hours to enjoy her seldomly peaceful time off. She comes to the first stop sign, following all of the traffic laws. She stopped before the sign and instantly felt the piercing beam of light breaking through the protection of her sunglasses. She creeps forward like a kids first time in a swimming pool, one toe at a time. Suddenly a quick reflection of light flashes in the corner of her eye. The very next moment, she is in someone’s yard with a Toyota RAV4 size dent where my brother would have been sitting in the passenger seat.

The man that hit her was not being a safe driver. The speed limit on the road is about 30 miles per hour, but there was no way he was going any speed close to that. There were no tire marks on the asphalt, proving that he did not even try to slow down. Distracted driving can affect one’s reaction time. If he was paying more attention, he could have slowed down and maybe my mom’s recovery would not have been as harsh or difficult. Even a small reduction in speed would lessen the tons of force that are inflicted on the other car involved. Whiplash was the root cause of my mom’s injuries. Thankfully, she didn’t break any bones, but her body definitely felt effects of being slammed against her door and back again into the RAV4. She was bruised from head to toe, almost bed ridden for weeks.

This day remains in my memory. I had no idea that any of this was happening while I was wandering the halls at school. I got off the bus and walked in the house with my usual happy-go-lucky attitude. I didn’t see my mom’s car, so I assumed she wasn’t home. I walk in the front door and my eyes finally adjust to see my mom sitting in the recliner chair. I had never seen her in this kind of shape before. She could barely talk and was hardly able to move. I came and sat next to the chair and was holding back my tears of fear and confusion. My stepdad walked up from the back of the house and explained what happened. My heart just sank. My mom was, and still is, the primary person I look up to the most. She has the strongest will and is so compassionate in every aspect in her life. I was now sitting next to her looking at her broken spirit. As a family, we all collectively knew without saying that we needed to help take care of her. Later once my brother and I were able to drive on our own, we were both swarmed with emotions. We were petrified because of what happened to our mom only a few years prior, but we also craved the independency that a driver’s license offered. Every time I get in my car, I think about my mom and remember that I have to be a safe driver in honor of her.