To Be Aware Or Not To Be

To Be Aware or Not To Be

In the spring of my first year of college, I got in my car, completely distraught, and was deep in my thoughts. I was on my way home to spend the weekend with my family. As I drove, my mind brought up the fresh emotional wounds I held from my first break-up. Approaching a traffic light, I noticed the two cars on either side of me had stopped when we could have continued to drive. I thought both drivers had not been paying attention. Since I was driving in the center lane and no car was in front of me, I proceeded on. As I entered the 4-way intersection, I saw a car from oncoming traffic making a left turn right in front of me! I laid on my horn, swerved, and missed them by a finger’s length. I was in shock and frantic because the driver almost hit me. I immediately then realized… it was I who almost hit them! I had a red light while the oncoming traffic had a green left turn signal. In truth, it was me who was the distracted driver because I was not paying attention before crossing through the intersection. Astound by the near predicament that I almost caused, I instantly parked my car in the nearest parking lot to calm down.

Thinking back to that experience, I was driving irresponsibly by not being aware of my state of mind before I got behind the wheel. My strong thoughts and emotions were a distraction to my driving which led to a skewed judgment of my surroundings. I am glad no one from this incident was harmed, however, my distracted thoughts could have easily ended much differently. This realization now helps me minimize the possible risks to driving and I feel I am a more alert driver.

The simple concept of focusing on driving while avoiding distractions such as texting, eating, or drinking while driving can minimize the risk of accidents. In addition, controlling strong emotions such as road rage can also have a great impact on reducing car accidents and possible deaths. Therefore, as my drivers ed instructor once said, be forgiving of others’ mistakes, do not text and drive, fully enjoy your meal when you reach your destination, and stay home to enjoy an alcoholic drink. I think we all need to be serious in doing our part by being aware of our surroundings and avoiding common distractions. In addition, attending a drivers ed refresher class in order to become more aware of our responsibility as drivers could all help us cultivate good driving habits. 

I am one person that almost caused a serious collision but now I can be one person who can help educate this awareness with those around me so that there are more responsible drivers on the road. I intend to strongly recommend these habits and practices to my younger siblings so that they may avoid being involved in automobile accidents as the next generation of drivers.