Your Decision

Your
Decision

No amount of experience can get you ready for the moment you lose
control. Driving where I live in Lehi, Utah has always been a gamble.
I would look at numerous cars only to see the driver staring at a
screen or eating a burger, and those people have always annoyed me.
Driving through a construction zone with distracted, rushed drivers,
narrow lanes, and going 60 mph on the freeway got me ready for my
crash, or so I thought.

I thought I was
prepared, but I was wrong. I learned this lesson ten days before I
was scheduled to leave the country to serve a two-year humanitarian
mission. Prior to my departure, I decided to take each of my siblings
out on a “date” for some quality one-on-one time before I left,
but a distracted driver threw a wrench into my plans when I was
taking my brother to a trampoline park. This wasn’t just a
fender-bender or anything small. I had just passed a semi-truck on a
busy freeway going 65 mph, when I heard a loud grinding noise behind
me. I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to to know what happened.
The distracted trucker hit me. The lug nuts on his tire had shredded
my rear tire and crushed the back half of my car. Then is when I felt
the unforgettable feeling of having no control. Every driver is used
to the car moving with them. You turn the wheel, the car turns. You
push the brake, the car slows down. I turned and I braked, but the
car was beyond that. No turning and braking could’ve stopped me
from slamming into the wall. Nothing I did could stop the traffic
that was speeding towards me. I was stuck. The victim of another’s
inaction.

I thank God that
both my brother and I got out of that car safely. Aside from minor
injuries and some dislocated joints, we were fine, but Zoom Zoom (my
car) was totaled. As I think of what might have happened, my blood
chills. Even if the accident were slightly worse, I could have been
disqualified for my missionary service and lost hundreds of dollars
already spent. What I learned from this lesson was that it doesn’t
matter how safely I drive. It is up to every driver on the road to
make that decision. I was following the rules. I wasn’t speeding, I
wasn’t listening to music, I wasn’t looking at my phone, and I
wasn’t unaware of my surroundings. My accident happened because a
truck driver failed to be aware, didn’t use his signal, and
switched lanes right into me.

Too many people are
either ignorant or choose to ignore ways to improve safety on the
road. Don’t drive rushed. Don’t drive distracted. Don’t drive
aggressively. The only ways we can hope to have safe roads are either
an insane amount of luck or for each person to do their part and
drive safe. It’s your decision.