Name: Brionna N. Rivers
From: Parma, Ohio
Votes: 0
The
Scare of my Life
As a daughter of an
insurance agent, I was always taught the importance of safe driving,
wearing a seat belt, no texting , no drinking and not having too many
people in the car. For the most part, I always did my by best to
follow the rules, because my Mom embedded this in my head as long as
I could remember. My brother is 10 years older than I, so I could
remember her preaching to him the very same story.
Well it was a cold
night on Friday, February 8, 2019. I was driving home from a
friend’s birthday bowling party and before I knew it, the roads had
become very icy. I live in Cleveland, Ohio and I was driving
Westbound on 480. As I attempted to merge from the fast lane my
tires hit the black ice and I begun to spin. At age 17 and my first
experience, I panicked and hit the brakes. I couldn’t stop, I
began to spin, before I knew it my car was facing eastbound on the
highway, I hit a car almost hitting a semi-truck and spun again and
was then facing almost westbound. couldn’t stop, I began to spin,
before I knew it my car was facing eastbound on the highway, I hit a
car almost hitting a semi-truck and spun again and was then facing
almost westbound. We both had damages to our vehicles, but thank God
we both were ok.
Lessons learned:
-
The police
asked if I was on my cell phone, which I was absolutely not. If I
had been texting or distracted, the outcome could have been must
worse. -
The police
also asked if I had on my seat belt. My Mom always told us “click
it or tick it”. I “ALWAYS “ wear my seat belt. -
I’m not old
enough to drink, however I would have felt sorry for anyone that
would have been under the influence. You needed to have been fully
aware of what was happening under the circumstances. -
Lastly, as I
was hitting the breaks, I suddenly remembered what I learned in
Drivers ed class, do not hit the break’s on ice, and
turn the wheel in the opposite direction. I think if it wasn’t
for the drivers ed course the outcome could have been far
worse.
In looking back, I
think I could have avoided the accident by driving a slower, putting
my hazard lights on and also driving in the slow lane as opposed to
driving in the fast lane.
From an overall
perspective, I think all drivers can do a better job of putting down
cell phones. I see many distracted drivers on the road today.
Thank you.
Brionna N. Rivers
