Unless Something Changes

He was in my car. How did it happen one minute away from my work? He was dropping off my car for me. Mom said she heard the crash. She never answers phone numbers she doesn’t know. How could she have known it was an EMT. A lady came into my work. She said she was late because of a car accident. My heart raced. No. It can’t be. But it was. In February of 2022, my father was in a car accident that would lead to a shattered shoulder, months of sleeping upright, physical therapy, and daily pain he still lives with to this day. While he sat still, waiting to cross traffic of a four-lane road in a little Honda Accord, a truck barreled into him at 55 mph. How could this have happened? According to the driver, she was adjusting the radio. Again, I ask, how could this have happened? How could people show so little compassion for others by driving recklessly? More importantly, how can we prevent it?

Unless something changes, we will never reduce the number of deaths related to driving. Reducing the number of deaths as a result in driving should be a top priority in driver education. It should not be about teaching kids to drive so the parents and children can have freedom, but it should be about teaching people how to drive effectively and safely. Why would we ever increase the number of drivers on the road without first ensuring the safety of everyone on the road? At amusement parks, imagine how much trouble they would be in for not checking seatbelts, taking care of the vehicles, stowing away all dangerous items, and ensuring the safety of everyone on a roller coaster. Yet today, people climb into their own personal roller coaster without wearing seatbelts, holding items they shouldn’t while in the vehicle, and drive at speeds infinitely more dangerous. There are hundreds of roller coasters on the interstate and, still, no one checks for safety. This needs to change.

Unless something changes, the steps we could implement to prevent deaths will never be effective. The steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving are many. We could place stricter laws; however, we don’t enforce the ones we have. I have seen a plethora of times where people going 80 or 90 mph do not get pulled over. There are sections of interstate where the speed limit is 55 mph, but, if you stick to this limit, you’re the one getting run over. How is it that the obedient are punished before the reckless? So maybe it isn’t different laws, but a different way of teaching that needs implemented. I attended an Accident-Avoidance class over five years ago that still is fresh in my memory. Why is accident avoidance not mandatory? Is it not imperative that everyone be good at accident avoidance? Are there people who don’t want to avoid them? In addition to this, the driving age is at a time children are not fully developed. If anyone should be trained more thoroughly, should it not be them? What other times in their life do we give them a 4000-pound piece of metal and plastic and say get in it, drive it 70 mph, and avoid all the other pieces of metal on the road? We must take better care of our children!

Unless something changes, people will keep getting hurt. The experience of my dad getting into a car accident outside of my work is as real today as it was the day he wrecked. I remember watching blood run down his face as I sobbed into a close family friend’s arm. I remember trading hospitals and waiting for hours as we called to get the word out of what had happened. I remember watching the footage as a girl too distracted with the radio pushed my father across two lanes of traffic into a deep bank. All I can think is, was changing the radio to her favorite station worth it? My father will never have full range of motion in his arm ever again. He struggles to pick up his own grandchildren. If I sound angry, it may be because I am. I am angry not at the girl who ran into my dad, but at the people who, having seen men catapulted from cars for not wearing seatbelts and women taken from this life and their children for other’s reckless driving, continue to go 90 mph down the fast lane because they are late for work. Reckless driving, I believe, is a direct correlation to selfishness. So, the real question is what steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?

Unless something changes, no one will strive to be better. First and foremost, always be the example, not the exception. Tell your family and friends how important safe driving is. There is not a one on the planet who has not been directly or indirectly affected by a car accident. It is a disease in this society now and one we must cure. We should challenge ourselves to drive defensively, not offensively. Proactive, not reactive. We must work to get ahead of this, not try to catch up when the epidemic of car crashes reaches our own backyard. Because if you haven’t been affected yet, you will. Unless something changes.