Bad luck on Valentine’s Day

This past Valentine
’s Day was a little short of romantic for me. It started out
with work at noon, which consisted of many lovesick couples
enjoying their guacamole burgers together: so many in fact, that I
had to work overtime. After an exhausting day of watching people
make out in booths – over their burgers and b
ottomless fries – I decided to top this day of love off by
totaling my car as I was leaving work.
This past Valentine’s Day was a little short of romantic for me. It started out with work at noon, which consisted of many lovesick couples enjoying their guacamole burgers together: so many in fact, that I had to work overtime. After an exhausting day of watching people make out in booths – over their burgers and bottomless fries – I decided to top this day of love off by totaling my car as I was leaving work.

I rear-ended some guy, who we will call unlicensed driver Dave, and his mom’s lovely Chevy truck did quite the damage to my poor little Ford Probe.

My Probe, which had been christened Betsy, was towed away from the scene with such fatalities as a cracked radiator that was shoved a foot into the engine. The entire front end of my car was smashed, including the pop up headlights (my favorite), and the hood was crumbled up like a silver metal tent.

So basically, the most excitement I got this Valentine’s Day was exchanging my insurance numbers with unlicensed driver Dave. To make matters worse, my mom informed me of the sad and shocking fact that I’d need to start memorizing bus routes. Public transportation? Not exciting.

So here am I, car-less, in seconds. The accident gave me a real hard, cold dose of reality. The only bright side I could find was the really buff legs I was going to have from walking everywhere. I started to appreciate all the little freedoms I had with my car. Isn’t it funny that it usually takes losing something to make you realize just how great it was?

I got Betsy the summer before I started college and it was like freedom on four wheels. I drove everywhere, especially back and forth from Morgan Hill to San Jose. After the accident, my first realization was that I was trapped at my sorority house. It’s not that it’s a bad thing, but I was so used to driving home every few days, catching a home-cooked meal, seeing my grandma, going shopping with my mom and sleeping in my incredibly comfy canopy bed.

Then I realized I had work the next day. How was I going to get there? I’d never once thought about how lucky I was to be able to drive myself to work. Now I had to rely on other people to get there, or anywhere else.

As I was complaining to someone about what I was going to do now and how horrible my situation was they said, “Aren’t you just glad that you’re alive and so is the other person? That no one got hurt?”

I had never even thought about that. And that’s the really important thing, not how I was going to get to work or my house.

Yeah, I lost my car with its digital dashboard, leather interior, automatic locks and windows, with those pop up headlights that I loved, (can you tell I’m not over it) but I was still alive and so was unlicensed driver Dave. That’s all that matters.

The truth is, with the way I was driving, an accident was bound to happen and I’m lucky it wasn’t a fatal one. I haven’t even been driving for a year and as soon as I got my license I was sure that I was the most experienced driver. I mean, I was able to get my license. I had to know what I was doing, right? Wrong.

It takes years of driving experience before you really know what you’re doing.

The Department of Transportation’s statistics indicate that accidents are generally related to irresponsible driving behavior. About 40 percent of fatalities are related to drinking and driving, 30 percent to speeding and about 33 percent from a car going off the road. Seat belt use is only at 68 percent nationally, even though it’s a highly effective way to prevent injuries and serious fatalities.

The Department of Transportation also states that the very young and the very old are much more likely to be involved in accidents. Car accidents are currently the number one killer of people ages 1 to 37. About 1 in 30 young drivers will be injured in an accident each year. Young drivers are four times more likely to die in car accidents and are much more prone to speed, drive recklessly, not wear their seatbelts and drink and drive than middle-aged drivers.

There are approximately 6.4 million accidents each year and 40,000 people die in auto accidents every year.

Don’t be stupid about driving like I was, because you may not be as lucky as I was. Now, when I drive I’m paranoid, alert, and a little scared. But I think it’s a good thing. My mom told me when I was learning to drive that a car was a loaded weapon and driving is a privilege, not a right. As always, mothers know best.

Here are a few quick tips that might help you to avoid an unnecessary accident.

Always check for cars twice before pulling into an intersection at a stop sign. Look not only left and right when backing out of a parking space but behind you as well. Watch for cars rushing through intersections at the end of a red light. There’s always that one idiot who tries to beat the red light and you don’t want to hit him. When switching lanes on the freeway, always turn your head and physically check for a clear lane, don’t just rely on mirrors because there could be a blind spot right where a car is.

Be very careful when driving close to trucks, because it is likely that the driver cannot see you. Always watch for kids if you’re in a neighborhood or near a school, because they have a tendency to pop out of nowhere.

If you think you’ll never get in an accident, think again. Chances are good you will. Even if you’re so sure you’re the perfect driver, you need to be cautious and alert for the careless drivers out there. Pay attention when you’re behind the wheel so you don’t have to learn the hard way like I did.

Also, don’t leave the house on Valentine’s Day, for fear that cupid might be in a grumpy mood. It’s just asking for bad luck.