I used to be like you, cruising at 80mph in the third lane of the highway, radio blasting, maybe even peaking at my phone; not a care in the world. Now, I’m in the first lane, barely reaching 65 mph. The radio quietly plays to navigate my thoughts, speakerphone on with the voice of my mom or dad rambling about anything and everything, knowing they need to calm my nerves. My routine drives on the highway are now laden with anxiety attacks, tears, nausea, and visions of that day.
She should have never gotten behind the wheel of her car that morning. Swerving from the first lane to the third, she hit my car, causing it to go airborne and roll four or five times. I remember every second of it, screaming as I watched her car collide with mine, begging for my car to stop flipping. Upside down and powered only by adrenaline, I crawled out of my car and faced this reality, unable to comprehend what had just happened or the long road that was to follow.
Like my car, my world has been flipped upside down since that horrific day. I have adjusted to the physical and emotional scars, but there is one thing I haven’t quite accepted; I could have died. I could have had my hopes, dreams, and future taken away from me in an instant by a careless woman. Her negligence almost cost me my life.
The television and radio are littered with pleas for sober and undistracted driving. Don’t drink and drive. Don’t text and drive. We see the harm, we know the laws, but why haven’t these actions stopped?
Now, my typical thoughts of outfits and homework are always second to those questioning why I am still here, still alive. In the week following my accident, multiple people said, “you should be dead” or “someone has bigger plans for you”. I have been wondering exactly what these plans are. Sure, I am in school to become a teacher, something I am so passionate about. Since the morning of June 2nd, I am also passionate about safe driving and enforcing those messages that we hear on the television and radio.
When we drive, we have a responsibility to keep ourselves and others on the road safe. I will not feel comfortable again until I know that people are sober and undistracted behind the wheel, especially while traveling at a high rate of speed. I write to you and ask you to think before you drive a vehicle.
I’m sure many of you are safe drivers; offering to be the designated driver for your friends and exercising safe driving etiquette. However, I know that people my age have gotten behind the wheel while under the influence or text while driving. I know that people my age know the potential consequences of these actions yet they still do them. Actions like these almost killed me, leaving me for dead on the side of the highway. Actions like these admitted me into the hospital for six days, confining me to my home for a month. They fuel my tears and ignite my fears. They need to stop.
I know I am beyond lucky and things could have gone much differently for me that day, as they do for some people. So I ask you, as you begin your joyous holiday season, to think before you get behind the wheel of a car, to be smart in your choices, to always drive sober and undistracted. Go out with your friends and enjoy each other’s company but get a designated driver or take a cab home. Put down your phone and trust that the text or Snapchat/picture (yes I know some of you Snapchat/take pictures while driving and I think it is one of the most ignorant things I have ever seen) can wait. I ask you to be strong enough to tell your driver to stop what they are doing if it hinders their driving ability, to take away their keys, and help to save lives.
In the months that have passed since my accident, I have come to wholeheartedly believe in the saying “you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have”. I’m not asking you to break a few bones and climb out of your over turned car, but I am asking you to be strong enough to say no, to make the right decision. Don’t put yourself in a position to rob someone of their hopes and dreams; don’t put yourself in a position to do any harm to yourself or others. Together, we can keep the roads safe during this holiday season.