In October 2011, my mother asked me to go the store to buy dog food. I personally do not like going alone so I always ask my best friend to go with me. I decided to take my mother’s car because hers was behind mine. As I got into the car and started to drive, I noticed I had a text. At first I ignored it, but then I received another.
At this point I was stopped at a stop light and decided to check my phone, but instead of texting back, I decided to call my friend. Our conversation was almost over and the light turned green. Suddenly, I was about to get hit by a car. I became so distracted from the phone call that I didn’t realize that the light I was stopped at didn’t have a left turn arrow. As the light turned green, I decided to turn left and the oncoming traffic was coming at me. I tried to speed up, but it was too late. I got hit on the passenger side causing the car to spin out.
The car was almost completely totaled. The officer on the scene told me that, if I had waited a second later and didn’t try to speed up, I would have been in the hospital. Unfortunately for me, the car that hit me was barely damaged. The police arrived and I was sentenced to a court date a month later.
Fast forward to November. I was sitting in court hoping the other driver wouldn’t show up. If she didn’t show up, the ticket I received would have been thrown out. Yet again to my misfortune, the other driver showed up. The consequences? I had to pay for the damage to her car, my mother’s car, my insurance went up, and I was on driving probation. Furthermore, I had 25 hours of community service to complete in one month. This put a bit of a damper on the holiday season. Although I walked away from the accident without physical damage, I still endured a long strenuous journey.
If I could go back in time, I would have waited to respond. The conversation was so unimportant and the entire accident and ordeal that followed could have been completely avoided. The next time you think about texting and driving, please don’t. If I had a friend in the passenger side, their life could have been taken. A text or phone call is not worth putting you or your friend’s life in danger.
For more on texting and driving please visit: www.KeepTheDrive.com
Robin Benoy • Feb 28, 2013 at 8:10 am
Wise words. May I add this: please be aware when you’re walking, skateboarding or riding your bike that there are potentially distracted drivers all around you. It takes but a moment of inattention to change someone’s life forever.