#caraccidnet

When I took driver's ed my sophomore year of high school I remember my teacher telling me, "Car accident is not an appropriate term and should not be used, it is a car crash".  I never really understood why, if you look away for a second you could very possibly "accidentally" run a red light or not see the person in front of you stop and then there is the "accident".  Although my new driver common sense did not understand this, I have through the years been able to realize the incite that my teacher possessed.  

  I remember the first car crash I was in, I was no older than four and my mom was driving in our car that I had appropriately named Whitey, because it was white.  An elderly woman, who could barely see over the steering wheel, hit our car on the drivers side and pushed our car all the way to the curb on my side of the car.  My moms door was crushed to the point that she had to crawl out my side of the car.  I don’t remember where we were, where we were coming from or where we were going but I remember my panic and my moms worry that she tried to shadow, as well as the teddy bear the police officer gave me.  The traumatic situation has not left my memory all though i could not tell you anything else about that year of my life.  Car crashes have affected my life in many ways, many bad ways.  Until recently I have not thought about how much.  Two years ago my Nana was killed in a car crash.  We are still not sure what happened but it was not her fault.  The oncoming car hit mostly on her side because she moved the car as far over as she could, saving my papa.  In a way my nana gave her life so that her love of her life could still stay with us.  She was much more than my grandmother, she was my friend and confidant.  This has changed my life forever and I miss her everyday.  Two weeks ago my friend got into a car accident and I was on the scene; it was two days before my nanas birthday.  My friends car was totaled and she had to go to the hospital.  Seeing her car and seeing her being strapped to the stretcher, made me really think about what we call “accidents”.

These drivers who hit my mom and me, my nana and my friend would have all said it was an accident, but I blame them wholeheartedly.  An accident is something that you can not control, but the whole point of driving is control.  This is not an accident, it was a mistake; a mistake that people make everyday.  WIth the use of the word accident we are almost letting the person off, making it sound like it could not have been helped.  Paying attention is the biggest part of having control over your car and driving.  It is hard to say what could change this view on driving and car crashes, could it be making the driving age older or making driving laws even more strict.  This subject is debated all the time, because we are all affected by cars and the drivers in them.  What we need to change is the way we see this situation and understand the importance of good driving habits.  I will not lie, I have found myself drifting off into lala land when I am driving and then being forced back to reality when I see brake lights in front of me.  This startling instance makes me really think about what I am doing and drive better and pay more attention, if only for the rest of the day.  This happens to everyone once in awhile but that “accident” could have turned into a great mistake, because of my lack of attention.