How not to get Killed
in a Car Wreck
Few things excite a teenager as
much as getting a driver’s license. It is, as they say, a “rite of passage” in
our society. It marks the start of adulthood. It’s the opportunity for a kind
of independence that didn’t exist back before the automobile, when most kids
lived on farms and it was often a long walk into town. It’s the chance to get a
job on your own. Driving is fun, even if you are only driving around your town.
And few things frighten the teen’s
parents and grandparents as much as that new driver’s license. Why the
different viewpoints on this major milestone?
Currently, the annual death toll
in car accidents is around 32,000. That number has been dropping, due to safer
cars, better enforcement of drunk driving laws, seatbelt use and other factors.
But a dropping number will be no comfort to your family if you are one of the
32,000 dead this year or next year. Despite the decline in deaths, you still
have a lot better chance of being killed in a car wreck then you do of winning
the lottery. Sad, I know, but there it is.
A website entitled Teen Car
Accidents (www.car-accidents.com/teen-car-accidents.html)
says: “Each Year over 5,000 teens ages 16 to 20 Die due to Fatal injuries
caused (by) Car accidents. About 400,000 drivers age 16 to 20 will be seriously
injured. The risk of being involved in a car accident (is) the highest for
drivers aged 16- to 19-year-old than it is for any other age group. For each
mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are about four times more likely than
other drivers to crash.” The risk is even higher in the first year the teen is
driving, because of lack of experience. And having other kids in the car increases
the risk, as the driver is more likely to be distracted, to drive recklessly to
show off, or to clown around.
That’s why some states have wisely
adopted graduated licensing. New teen drivers must have an adult driver with
them for a period of time, can’t drive with other kids in the car, and/or are
limited in the hours they drive. Such rules cut down on the number of weeping
parents burying dead children.
Every one of those 5,000 dead kids
last year didn’t think it could happen to her or to him. That may be why teens
are less likely to use seatbelts than older drivers.
The only good news for you is that
boys are more likely to crash than girls, I guess because they like to show off
and drive faster, drive without seatbelts and drink and drive. Of course, even
that doesn’t help you if you are riding in a car with a boy at the wheel.
Everyone alive is at risk of dying
every minute. An airplane could fall out of the sky on you—it’s rare, but it
happens. The trick is to do everything you can to reduce your risk, just like
smart soldiers in a war dig a fox hole to hide in every time they stop moving,
just in case.
You cannot completely eliminate
your risk of dying in a car wreck. You can be the safest driver in the world,
and some drunk in a truck can crash into you. I’ve been in five accidents in my
life (so far), all because the other driver made a mistake. Lucky no one was
hurt badly in any of them.
You can, however, greatly reduce
your risk of dying in a car crash, if you follow some simple rules.
1. Never speed. Never ride with
someone who speeds. Yes, any driver can get careless, especially in a low speed
zone, and exceed the limits. Grandma and I have had speeding tickets. It’s
especially hard to remember in the 25-mile-an-hour neighborhoods, where the
limit is for the safety of kids who may be playing in or near the street, not
for the driver, and it feels like you are creeping along. But you wouldn’t want
to live your life knowing you had killed a child by speeding. And high speed is
a factor in a large number of fatal car crashes.
2. Always wear your seatbelts.
Require anyone who rides with you to wear them. While it’s not true that a cop
has “never unbuckled a dead person,” a lot more of the people killed in car
wrecks aren’t wearing seat belts than are. Lack of seat belts is another a big
factor in crashes where people die.
3. Never drink and drive. Never
ride with a driver who has been drinking, smoking pot or doing drugs. Impaired
drivers account for a large number of crashes. They have done tests where they
have a driver do an obstacle course in traffic cones. Then they have him drink
a couple of beers and do the course again. The drinking driver always does
worse, but often thinks he is doing better! That lack of judgment makes the
risk worse.
4. Don’t let yourself be
distracted by talking on a cell phone (even hands free) or, worse, texting
while driving. Don’t ride with someone who does. There are studies that say the
distraction of cell phones make you drive as badly as someone who has been drinking.
Near where we lived in New Jersey ,
a four-year-old girl was killed by a driver on a cell phone who wasn’t paying
attention and slammed into her mother’s van. Imagine him having to look in the
mirror every morning knowing he killed a little girl because he thought his
call was so important.
5. Don’t drive if you are tired.
Pull over and take a nap, or get someone else to drive. Fatigue causes a lot of
accidents too. We had a neighbor in Madison who fell asleep at the wheel one
morning. He died. So did the mother and little boy he hit head on.
6. Try to only drive or ride in
safe cars. That can cost money, but funerals are expensive, too. Make sure the
breaks, tires and other safety features are well maintained. A newer car with
safety features like airbags is better. A larger car may not be “cool,” but
it’s safer. Being dead doesn’t make you popular either.
It’s hard to tell a friend,
especially a boyfriend, that you won’t ride with him because he speeds, or
drinks or drives carelessly or has an unsafe car (or, maybe, all four!). It can
hurt if he (or she) gets mad or teases you about it. But having your head go
through a windshield at 80-miles-per hour can hurt a lot worse. Having your
face scared for life in a car wreck will hurt for life.
7. If it’s raining hard, and you
come to a large puddle—a flooded section of the road—don’t try to drive through
it. The water can rise very rapidly, stalling out your car, leaving you to wade
out looking stupid while you car gets ruined from flood waters. Yes, I know
from experience.
Looking stupid and a ruined car
are not the worst things that can happen. Every year, some people are in
stalled cars in a flood, get out and are swept away and drowned. Talk about
wrecking your weekend.
Of course, rain, ice and snow are
likely to cause crashes, and require extra care when driving. “Extra care” can
be taken by not driving in them at all, unless absolutely necessary.
Nothing can remove all risk of car
accidents. But if you follow these rules, you are much more likely to live to
an age to worry about your own kids or grandkids driving their first car.
(Maybe by then the cars will fly and you’ll be twice as worried.)
Excerpt From:
Advice for my Granddaughter: For When I’m
Gone
http://www.amazon.com/Advice-Granddaughter-When-Im-Gone/dp/147004238X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417188860&sr=1-1&keywords=Advice+Granddaughter+Robert+A+Hall
Advice for Boys: From an Old Marine by Robert A. Hall
All royalties go to charity.
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