Imagine an Accident

“Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be in a car accident?” This is a question my friend asked me the other day when I was driving. And honestly, I have, but not in the way you might think. I haven’t imagined myself physically being in an accident, but I have thought about the consequences of it. I’ve pictured myself with broken bones and the inability to do the things I take for granted such as walking and talking. I’ve imagined how a car accident would affect my everyday life and my family and friends. Thankfully, these thoughts have all been fiction as I have never been in a car accident, but it is scary to think about how in a split second they could become reality. That being said, no one should ever need to imagine themselves being in a car accident. This is where drivers ed comes in. Instead of thinking about what would occur during a car accident, we should all be actively using our driving knowledge to prevent car accidents. Drivers ed is extremely important in preventing deaths from driving because if we didn’t know how to navigate the road, there would be constant car accidents. To reiterate this point, imagine placing a young child in the driver’s seat of a car and telling them to drive themselves to school. This scenario seems ridiculous since it is clear that letting a young child drive would have serious consequences; however, this perspective completely switches when the child becomes only a few years old. At this point, they are allowed to drive alone without any restrictions. How does someone go from an inexperienced child who isn’t able to even sit in the driver’s seat to someone who is driver with no supervision? Well, the answer lies in drivers ed. Drivers ed equips students with the tools they need to prevent car accidents and death on the road by teaching them how to keep themselves and others safe while driving. Although drivers ed is the first crucial step to reducing the number of deaths resulting from driving, there are other things that can be done to stop these deaths too. One example is to stay inside your comfort zone when driving. If you aren’t comfortable driving at fast speeds or in the dark, don’t do it. Worrying about these things will take your attention off of driving which increases the chance of a car accident occurring. I personally want to continue to implement this and other aspects into my life because although I have thought about my answer to the question “Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be in a car accident?”, I want others to instead gain confidence from their drivers ed and not have to imagine this.