My First Accident, What I Wish I Had Done, and What You Can Do

It was August 2021 when I got in my car accident. I was heading over I25 when I rammed into someone’s driver’s side door. I immediately got out of my car to check if the person was ok, and thank god she was. I find this experience hard to describe. The sounds pierced my ears, my insides scrambled, and my vision went blurry. At that moment I had felt something I had never felt before in my life. I had almost killed someone. As I describe this traumatic event, I would like the reader to imagine how the person I hit must have felt. It’s one thing to feel like you almost killed someone, and it’s another thing entirely to feel like you could have died. This is the pain I have inflicted on another human being, and I cannot be more ashamed or regretful. One can only hope that Whomever this person is, they have recovered and is living a great life.

However, the sick truth of this experience is that I got off easy. No one was hurt, the fines were paid, and everyone went home to live another day. In contrast to this, as outlined by the information given for this scholarship, 34,000 people die each year from driving. It is very likely that on that same day there were people who had a very similar experience to mine, only their circumstances ended in the death of themselves or someone else. Given this information, it is imperative that we as a society take driving much more seriously. To that end, I will share what I wish I had done and what I can do now to be a better driver.

To start, it is important to know your own limitations as a driver. Are you colorblind? Do you get easily distracted? Are you anxious or unconfident behind the wheel? Drivers must identify these problems and seek to remedy or balance them. For example, if you get easily distracted, shut off your phone and radio. One thing that helps me when I get distracted is taking a deep breath and talking out what I’m doing to myself. Sometimes recognizing your own limitations might mean driving less or not at all at certain times. For some people, driving in the evenings makes it harder to focus on streetlights or signals because the lights blend together as they pass by. This may have been one of the reasons I got in my accident since I was driving in the late evening. In response to this, I may make sure that I do not drive in the evenings as much anymore.

Consequently, if you are going to recognize your limitations as a driver, you must also recognize the limitations of other drivers. Just because you do your best to follow the rules on the road, does not mean that everyone else will. Be on the lookout for reckless or ignorant drivers, and always be thinking about how to best avoid them with the least collateral damage. It’s important to note, however, that not all drivers are blatantly reckless. Some drivers are just like me: people who think they’re driving safely when they really aren’t. So even if a driver looks to be safe at the moment, always be ready to protect yourself. Because no matter how safe we think we are, accidents happen.

However, this is my final, and most important point: Know the rules. Even if you think they are easy to understand or boring to read about, it is important to know all of the rules of the road so you can be prepared for every situation. I was never great at studying, and the information I learned from my driver’s manual had worn off very soon after finishing my driver’s test. I knew basic things, but the little nuances in the rules tend to screw me up. Especially when I was on a busier, more complex road like the one above I25. Perhaps if I had taken more initiative in my studying, I would have been more prepared. I will be rereading my driver’s manual before I drive again, and I urge everyone to review theirs whenever they feel confused or unsure. Another thing I do to prepare myself for drives is to go on google maps and browse the street view images of whatever road I want to drive on, especially if I’ve never been on that road before. It is important not only to educate yourself about the rules of the road but about the road itself.

This is the insight that I have to offer based on my experiences with accidents and driving: Be aware of yourself, others, and the road. While I am aware that I still have much to learn, I hope this essay is helpful to whoever reads it, and I hope that fewer people will have to feel the pain that I have afflicted that poor stranger. Becoming a better driver is a kindness done towards yourself and everyone else, and I think no matter who we are, we can never be too kind.