Anomaly

I’m sailing down the road at 45 MPH, the speed limit, when I see a green light. Great, I don’t have to stop. Until that was a car making a left from the opposite direction who also had a green light but yield to cars in my direction first. I could not turn right, that’s the direction she was going. I could not go left, there were other cars. I could not swerve left then right, there was a slight hill on the side, which would mean risking flipping. Slamming on the breaks, I was able to get down to around 30-35 MPH before I had crashed into her.

She drove to the other side of the road where she was going originally, the tire marks evident on the street. Small debris on the road, but no airbags. She called the police, while I called my mom. Having a complete breakdown in the seat of my car, I try to get my breathing under control. My mom forces me out to take pictures of the damage to my car, which included damage to the hood, grill, taillight, and every other part on the front left.

When the police got there, I’m sitting in the passenger’s seat, my leg bouncing faster than seemed possible. They asked me the usual questions, what speed was I going, what lane was I in, what color was the light. I answered all their questions, and continued to cry, as this was my first accident. I knew it wasn’t my fault, but I know there are people out there who would attempt to pull the teen driver, it’s automatically their fault card. Not only that, I had hit the back of her car, and whoever hits the back is usually responsible.

Luckily, the police had come back to me and told me the other lady corroborated my story, and it wasn’t my fault. Her insurance would pay for the damages, but I was still shaken. That didn’t mean I was done driving, I still had to go a few more miles until we got to the airport.

After that, I didn’t drive for a while. Well, we had a rental car as we went back home, so I legally couldn’t drive it anyways. But when we came back, I still avoided that road. I took back roads, even if it took those extra few minutes on slower roads or through parts of town that weren’t the best.

Finally, one day, my brain was so preoccupied with the homework I had to do that night, I didn’t realize I had taken that road until I was at the same spot. To this day, I tell myself that the accident was just an anomaly, and the chances of that happening again are next to none, even though I have no proof of that.

In my driver’s ed course, I was taught to be cautious of other cars, who had the right of way in certain situations. But I was not taught or put through a computer simulation about the possibility of someone trying to speed out in front of me. Since the accident, I’ve always stared down other cars (still focusing on my lane and cars in front me) to see if they were going to try to cut it.

Now, there may not have been much if anything at all I could’ve done to prevent that from happening. Although, I do think that if I were taught that’s a possibility for me and not just reports from the news, I would’ve been able to handle it better. I could’ve known if there was another option besides just slamming the brakes.

Having a computer simulation or even lessons on where to go if that happens could go a long way, it could prevent an accident like mine. I got lucky and no one got hurt, but for those who aren’t that lucky would also know that they were taught what to do in such a situation.

Being prepared for such a situation can also help people stay as calm as they can. I know that I was not, and I had a total breakdown. Sure, if this were to happen again, I would most likely be bouncing my knee or trying to breathe, but being prepared can also bring that sense of comfort that is enough to keep someone functioning.

In the end, learning about all different kinds of situations and possibilities on the road is important, even if they do seem like they would be that anomaly.