That Fateful Sound

Bam! The fateful sound you hear when you are involved in a car crash. Panic sets in. What damage is there? Is anyone hurt? Am I hurt? After checking the people and cars involved you begin to wonder, whose fault was it? Who will pay for it? These questions can be avoided altogether by creating a safer driving culture. By requiring driver education for minors, these situations are increasingly reduced. Driver education is a crucial step in becoming a safe driver. It educates you on the rules of the road as well as safety tips. For a minor, Driver’s education is required before you are allowed to take the permit test. Equally important is the in-the-car training after you receive your permit. This is both practicing with a licensed adult and with a driving instructor who has pedals on his side in case of emergencies. To be a safe driver, you must practice. Requiring minors to take a driver’s education course and in-car training experience is a start, however, it should be required of everyone before they are allowed a license, not only for the safety of them and those in the car but for others on the road. When I first drove a car, I had to get acquainted with the pedals. I knew it all in theory from driver’s education online but is different in the actual car. The pedals react; if you press too hard, the car starts fast. If you do not press the brake hard enough, the car might not stop. To lower the amount of not only deaths on the road, but car accidents in general, drivers must be trained properly. Currently, in my home state of California, any legal adult can take the in-car driver’s license test and receive their license even if they have had absolutely no training. In California, the rules for a minor before they are permitted to obtain a driver’s license are 1) you must have completed driver’s education online before the permit test, 2) you must pass the written permit test, 3) you must have your permit for six months before the driver’s test, 4) you must complete in-car driving training, and 5) while you have your permit, you must have a licensed adult in the car whenever you drive. Then, you must pass the in-car driver’s test. Once you have obtained your license, you are not allowed to drive anyone under the age of twenty-five until you have your license for a full year, or you turn eighteen years old. These rules seem harsh at times, but they are there for your, and everyone else’s safety. Currently, these rules only apply to minors, however, they should apply to all those applying for a license.

When I was in jr. high, I was in a major car accident. The car in front of us stopped suddenly, our car’s the brakes in our car failed and we slammed into the other. Then another car hit us from behind. The car was totaled. Thankfully, no one was hurt except for a few bruises, scrapes, and seat belt burns. The front of the hood was smashed up into a triangle shape, the front window was smashed, all the airbags in the front and sides of the car had deployed, there was debris everywhere, inside the car everyone was unsure of what to do. All eight seats in the car were full. I was in the back middle seat, and my friends on either side of me were both panicking. My youth leaders, in the front seats, were trying to calm everyone down. My friend thought the car was on fire because of all the smoke and it was hard to breathe. After several minutes, we were helped out of the car and ushered to the right side of the freeway. Luckily, we were right next to an off-ramp so there was a place for us to stay. The guy we had hit was a police officer, so he knew exactly what to do and quickly put flares behind the cars so others would slow down. It was a horrible accident and I hope I never have to go through a similar one in my life. Now, in this accident, there was nothing we could have avoided. We were on our way back from an event and the car had worked fine on the way there. Nobody was on their phones or similarly distracted. In fact, the reaction times were incredible. While we were driving, I could tell about three seconds before we hit the car that we were going to crash. It was scary and intense.

As for myself, what I can do as a driver is to be constantly aware of my surroundings and not be on my phone while I drive. Anything can happen, even in a split second, someone looks at their phone. I can also help teach my friends and family the dangers of the road and how to avoid them. I will do all I can to ensure that I never hear that fateful sound of a crash and so that others will not have to either.