Distracted driving and me

Learning how to drive is a rite of passage for every teenager. It is the first step to gaining independence and it encourages them to make decisions on their own about how they use their time and newfound freedom. However when I was around 16, I was part of a large car accident with my mom so I wasn’t exactly bouncing on my feet ready to take the drivers test. The accident was early in the morning right in front of my high school. Someone wasn’t paying attention when turning and crashed right into the driver’s side of the car directly hitting my mom and I. I still remember hearing a loud screech of tires and seeing a car coming towards us almost in slow motion. I remember pointing at the car and screaming for my mom to look out but it was too late. It caused both my mom and I to get surgery and almost a year of doctor visits to fully physically recover from the accident. However to this day, I have trouble walking long distances due to my weak back and joints. And the most damage the accident caused me was psychological since it took me years to get comfortable sitting in the passenger seat of a car again. I would flinch and close my eyes whenever a car came too close to me since I would get reminded of the incoming car that caused my mom and I so much pain.

After the accident, I was nearly certain I would never learn how to drive. I mostly relied on my parents or public buses to drive me places so there was never a need for me to learn and the memories of the accident in general discouraged me. Also with the pandemic going on at the time I wasn’t exactly going anywhere outside for obvious reasons. But I was soon going to leave my hometown for college so I couldn’t just rely on public transportation and my parents for rides forever. I craved the freedom of driving I would have gotten as a teenager. So with some encouragement from my parents and friends, I started to learn how to drive.

While I was attending driving school, driving started to get more realistic and possible for me. The driving procedures and road signs were easy to understand and I was starting to get more comfortable with the idea of driving. In my first behind the wheel sessions, I was nervous and wary of other cars. But after some more practice my fear of driving started to fade in the background. I appreciated how thorough the driving lessons were and how serious the driving instructor would take it. I definitely agree with the current procedures regarding driving school with students needing to take a certain number of behind the wheel sessions and needing to pass a written test before taking the drivers test. It encourages students of different ages to practice driving and helps them get a lot of experience before they get their license. Driving school also reminds students how serious driving is by constantly reminding them the dangers of driving. In my home state of Maryland, distracted driving caused more fatal accidents than driving with drugs or alcohol in 2021. The driver who hit my mom and I all those years ago wasn’t under the influence of any drugs and they weren’t necessarily aggressive or speedy. They were simply not paying attention and caused a mother and her daughter immense amounts of pain.

I’m currently working to finish my hours and I’m starting to enjoy driving. After experiencing that accident, I believe that driving is a privilege that could be taken away if someone doesn’t take it seriously. While driving is an exciting experience, it’s very easy to find yourself spacing out when you’re behind the wheel. Sitting waiting for a green light and traffic ranging in intensity are places where I find myself spacing out when driving. So I can’t even imagine driving under the influence of alcohol or any other substances because it would definitely make me a danger to the road. The bare minimum of safe driving is to remain focused on the road and to make sure you drive with a clear mind with good sleep and no substances. Both distracted driving and driving under the influences are the largest causes of accidents in my home state. While other causes like aggressive drivers or speedy drivers also cause death, both distracted and driving under the influence are easy to control factors. It’s easy to just not drive when you’re not in a state to do so. So if people were to think twice about if they are in a state to drive, I can imagine that there would be less accidents and the roads would be safer to drive in.