One Second too late

One
second to spare

The
night was dark and wet. Not a single star could be seen through the
thick grey clouds. Just like any other night, I was racing home to
eat dinner and head to bed. I was no stranger to early mornings, but
getting a full eight hours of sleep was always a goal. I approached
the well-known intersection on my bike. I quickly glanced both
directions and saw that I was clear to go. However, the light
remained red. I was in such a rush that I did not even give it a
second thought before I dashed a crossed the street. Moments later I
was flat on my face wondering what just happened. I looked to my left
and saw my headphones laying in the road. I looked to my right and
saw my bike laying in the mild of the intersection with its bike tire
completely bent. Seconds later I hear the words, “my light was
green.” The next sound I heard was the screeching of tires as the
car drove away. I walked my bruised body home while I dragged my
tattered bike along side of me. Thoughts flooded my mind, “Did that
just happen? How did I not see him? Why did he drive away? Am I badly
injured?” I could not comprehend the event that just transpired
moments earlier. I finally arrived home and greeted my brother. I
told him what happened and he immediately filled a police report. The
next day I went to the hospital only to find out I broke my right
wrist, tore the cartilage in my left wrist, and bruised the bone on
my left hip. The doctor was surprised by how positive I was about the
hearing the news of my broken and bruised body. I simply told him,
“Had it been a second earlier, I might not be here. I consider
myself blessed.”

I was a fool for wearing headphones, not wearing a helmet, and
ignoring traffic signals. Looking back this all could have been
easily avoided had I just payed attention. Had I stopped at the
intersection and waited for the signal. Had I not worn my headphones
while riding my bike. Had I not disregarded all my education about
driving safety. Both as a driver and as a pedestrian. The answer to
what steps I can take in order to be a better driver and to reduce
fatalities is simple. Follow the rules. We, including myself, must
obey the rules and regulations. They are not there to hinder or
impede us. Rather, they are there to keep us safe. When did we all
become so concerned with saving a few moments that we willing gamble
our lives? Why is it that we excessively speed in order to get to a
destination only minutes earlier. Why is it that we must check our
phones immediately instead of focusing on the task at hand? We all
know what we should and should not do, but we often disregard it
saying to ourselves, “That could never happen to me. However, it
does and it will.