Aside from the usual “don’t drive under the influence” or “always keep your eyes on the road” discussions that every student learns in their high school health class, I believe that there needs to be more discussion on keeping your eyes on the cars around you as well. 

In May of this year, I was leaving my school on a Saturday morning after taking my SAT. Since I was still 16, I hadn’t gotten my license yet, and I had asked a friend to give me a ride home. We were starting to back out of the parking spot, when all of a sudden, I heard a loud cracking noise and I instantly felt her airbags go off around me. I was on my phone at the time, and had absolutely no idea what was going on. My ears started to ring, and my friend screamed, “Oh my god! Lynnsey, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

I realized that the airbags had only gone off on the passenger side. My arms then ached, my heart pounded in my ears, my mouth was dry, and nausea was building up in my stomach. We stepped out of the car, and I still hadn’t said a single word. My friend rushed to hug me and ask me again if I was hurt.

Then, I saw the man who crashed into us getting out of his car, his young son, who was no older than five, trailing behind him while his wife stayed put in the passenger seat. Soon enough, about ten people had surrounded me. My friend, the man driving, police officers, paramedics, and another teenager whose car was also totaled in the crash. As we were pulling out of the spot, a man had sped through the parking lot going close to 30 miles per hour, and smashed into the rear right side of my friend’s car. The blow was so hard that it knocked our car into the car on our left, leaving both our car and the other teenager’s car totaled, and a dent on the front of the man who crashed’s car. 

At that point, I still wasn’t able to process what had happened. The only thing that was on my mind was, “What will my parents say?” I sat down on the pavement and could only mumble in response to the paramedics as they asked me if I was okay. An ambulance arrived while I was on the phone with my dad, a call I remember like it was just moments ago. It was by far the most stressful call that I’ve ever had to make. I started it by saying, “Dad? Before you ask, I am OKAY, but Emma and I just got into a car accident in the parking lot. Please come to the high school”.

While sitting in the ambulance, I was talking with a police officer and a paramedic, who told me that the man who had hit us had been texting when the accident had occurred. Frustration hit me harder than fear. How could a person have such flagrant disregard for their own safety, and for everyone else’s? Not just innocent strangers, but his family that was in the car too?  His momentary lapse of judgement could have killed us all. People forget that, when driving, they are controlling a two-ton machine capable of devastating damage in less than seconds.

Although nobody involved in the crash had sustained major injuries, the experience changed how I viewed driving entirely. It happened just a few weeks before my driver’s test, and I promised myself that I would never be that kind of driver. I asked my parents to help me practice for two hours a day, every day, leading up to the test. Even when I grew annoyed by the constant corrections and feedback, I knew that those hours were making me a better driver in the end. By the time I took my test, I was confident; and I passed with flying colors. 

That accident six months ago shaped the driver and person that I am today. It showed me the importance of being alert, responsible, and aware of others when on the road. I never pick up my phone while driving. I make it a point to not eat or adjust my GPS, and I don’t let impatience override caution.  If I miss an exit, I don’t cut anyone off to make it. I don’t speed or drive past 11 PM, and I certainly never drive under the influence. Each of these habits is a small promise that I’ve made to protect myself, my passengers, and the strangers sharing the road with me.

Since that day, the fear I felt transformed into purpose. I want to use my story to spread awareness about distracted driving’s consequences and support those recovering from similar and/or worse experiences. 

One of the first steps that I have taken on this journey connects directly to that goal: creating my patented device, the Universal Toilet Training Method and Apparatus. This device is a tool that can help people with physical or neurological impairments learn or relearn to wipe their buttocks. Though it may seem unrelated, this invention was solely inspired by empathy for those whose lives have been permanently changed by tragic accidents, including car crashes. I see it as my own way of giving independence back to people whose mobility or motor control has been compromised.

That day in May taught me that distracted driving is not just a statistic; but that it’s a chain reaction that can change lives in an instant. While I can’t undo the crash that jolted me awake, I can honor it by staying alert, sharing my story, and helping others rebuild when distractions take too much. Every time I go to start my car, I remember that lesson, and I keep my eyes, always, on the road, and on the lives moving beside me.