Not Lucky, Educated

Not
Lucky, Educated

A
scholarship application essay for dmvedu.org

In
March 2018 I earned my driver’s license. I had taken driver’s
education classes and done all of my driving hours. I had saved my
money and bought myself a car, a 2009 Mazda 6. It had high mileage,
but it was mine! My parents had talked to me about the importance of
following the speed limit, keeping my phone in my backpack, and
practicing safe driving at all times. But they hadn’t needed to. I
loved my car and the freedom it gave me.

It
was raining on March 23. I was on my way home from school, my twin
brother in the passenger seat. The school bus in front of me stopped,
so I stopped. Twenty feet is enough space for two cars. I made sure
to think about all I had learned in class. While I watched the bus
door to see how many children got out there was a flash of green in
my rearview mirror, a bone rattling jolt and we were slammed forward
toward the bus. It happened so fast I hardly registered that I’d
been hit. The green suv rocketed around the bus, swerved between the
bus and the oncoming car and sped away.

As
we got out of the car the bus monitor got off the bus; she ran toward
us asking if we were ok. My beautiful Mazda was twisted in the lane,
the bumper laying in the middle of the road, the tire turned at a
wrong angle. I was still five feet away from the back of the bus.
There were little kids looking out the back window with huge scared
eyes but I had not hit the bus. I wasn’t hurt, my brother wasn’t
hurt and no little kids were hurt.

I
found out later that the driver in the oncoming car had called the
police and followed the green suv. He was an unlicensed driver who
had stolen a family member’s car. Not only did he have no right to
be driving, he had no idea what he was doing. He was caught and took
responsibility for his actions. Before he gets a driver’s license
he will need to become an educated driver.

Both
my brother and I were wearing our seatbelts, I was paying attention
and was stopped far enough behind the bus to keep the children safe.
Still, we were lucky that we were not hurt. I don’t believe there
was any other luck involved. The bus driver was trained and looked,
and saw that I was stopped, but the car behind me wasn’t stopping
and she did not open the bus door. The driver in the oncoming vehicle
was an educated, experienced, safe driver and there was enough room
for the reckless driver to avoid the bus. We can’t control other
people’s bad decisions, but educated driving can keep everyone
safe.