I Survived

In 2019, there were 33,244 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States and 36,096 deaths that occurred and I could’ve been included (U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System). I am beyond blessed to be able to sit here to attest that anything can happen to anyone; no one is an exception. Turning sixteen means driver’s license; driver’s license means freedom; freedom means you’re grown. Until you live that age, it seems like the grass is always greener on the other side. This is not always true as I have been in multiple car accidents, but being the cause of one is life-changing.

Black Friday is one of the days I looked foward to when I got my driver’s license because waking up at the crack of dawn to get deals did not appeal to my mom for some reason. Instead, I would have to wait until I could drive myself. Friday morning in 2020, I found myself coming back home that morning after shopping. I needed to drop off a letter to one of my friends who lived on one of the most dangerous backroads in our county. My best friend was in the passenger seat and we were jamming to music with no rush. I was not distracted by phones or music, but the curse of my lead foot got the best of me. Living in Kentucky, big green tractors will slow your arrival time down and for some reason, my teenage brain was not thinking about the consequences of passing a tractor on a one-way road. I’ve seen people pass others on one-way roads on country lanes so I thought it was no big deal. The open fields and wide roads make it easy to pass cars since you have free range and rarely any policemen. As I grew impatient, I was going twenty miles over and accelerated to pass the tractor. I was approaching a hill and a double line but I thought I could definitely make it. I felt my side of the car slip off the side of the road as I was passing the front of the tractor because there was a drop-off I did not see. The road must have been narrower than I had thought and I attempted to auto-correct. As I was ramping a driveway, my car somehow managed to cut in front of the tractor and I ended up passing him so much that I landed in a field on the other side of the road, losing my front right tire completely. My car followed the way the letter Z is written.

I remember my best friend screaming as I was dead silent. I was in shock. The first thing I did as I felt the car slide off was put the “mom arm” out in front of her to ensure she was protected to the best of my ability. The second thing I did was close my eyes and pray for the best. The third thing I did once my car landed on the ground was open my eyes to make sure she was breathing and the tractor behind me was okay. The last thing I made sure was okay was myself. I put everyone and everything before me because I knew that this wreck was my fault. At that moment I had no words other than I was sorry for putting other people in danger. It was hard for me to believe that I was so worried about being behind a slow tractor that I risked not only my life but other people’s as well.

My wreck was eye-opening to see that even if you are not distracted driving, speed and attention are some of the most preventable ways to be in an accident. We were both beyond blessed to have walked away without a bruise or a scratch. The man in the tractor told my father that he saw my car at least five feet in the air and called me “reckless.” As someone who has always had straight A’s and followed the rules, it was a hard pill to swallow that I had disappointed the ones who love me the most.

Unfortunately, I received a speeding ticket a year later for going twenty-three miles over because I feared being late for curfew. As a teenager, the world seems like it’s going to end if you have to be home at an earlier time than everyone else because it seems uncool. I had to be home at ten on a school night and decided to leave my friend’s house at nine-fifty, knowing that I was going to have to speed in order to get home. I thought I was invincible and that I had done it many times thinking it wouldn’t be a problem. until it was. I saw the lights go off and I immediately wished I had left earlier to allow myself more time to get home. Instead, I found myself telling the officer the honest reason behind my speeding and found out he had kids of his own. He informed me that this was a normal reason for speeding, but a lesson must be learned as a consequence must be served. I understood and deserved whatever punishment that was going to be. A month later, my mom and I sat in the courthouse for five hours and I decided I was going to go to traffic school to get the points taken off my record since it was my first offense.

After completing traffic school and towing my first car, I began to really understand the dangers of driving. Although driving seems so much more fun when you are younger, it comes with a lot of responsibilities. I learned the hard way that driving is a privilege and is not to be taken lightly. People get killed and cars get damaged because of people like me. For the past two years, it has been an eye-opening experience to undergo the things your parents warn you about. I was lucky that I didn’t hit someone the night I was speeding to meet a curfew. I was lucky to not have killed my best friend or myself. I hope I never have to witness or experience losing someone because of a careless decision like I have in the past.

People sharing their experiences about dangerous driving are great ways for people to take driving seriously. Bringing awareness is a great step in the right direction to educate others. No one is invincible and life can change in the blink of an eye. People need to understand the consequences of making poor driving decisions and the long-term effects. Driving safely saves money and people’s lives. There is no place you need to be that is so important that could cost someone’s life. No one’s pride should be so big to slow down and be patient. Safe driving makes the world a better place if we take action in protecting others. Car wrecks and tickets are normal; let’s make a new normal that includes fatality and crash numbers decreasing and not increasing.