A few months ago, I was in a single car accident:
I made a number of choices before, during, and after the wreck. Some were good choices, some were not, and I hope y'all can learn something from those mistakes.
- NEVER drive tired. The night before the accident I had a terrible migraine, and when I woke up for a very early morning class that day, I still had a bad headache and felt very unwell. I made two choices: first, that I would still go to class because I *had* to turn in an assignment, and second that I would drive the half hour commute rather than take the train so that I could get an extra 45 minutes of sleep. Halfway to school, I zoned out and started to swerve off the road, and upon feeling a change in the texture of the road, I snapped out of it and overcompensated, jerking the steering wheel to the right and throwing the car completely out of control.
- Don't freak out if you start swerving out of your lane. Gently turn the wheel and get back into your lane- better you rub your tires a bit if you're that far over than pitch the entire car across three lanes of highway and risk rolling your car.
- DO NOT TEXT AND DRIVE!!!!! I praise God that I did not even have my phone in my lap when the accident happened, or I would have never forgiven myself. That said, if I can swerve out of my lane with my eyes on the road, all the more times could the same accident have happened if I texted while driving. I can not tell you how many times someone has nearly sideswiped me or weaved in and out of their lane in front of me only for me to clearly see them staring at their phones, totally oblivious. It is DANGEROUS!!! It is no different than watching a movie on your phone while driving, or reading a textbook in your lap while driving, and I KNOW y'all don't do that- so why text?
- Keep your hands at 4 and 8 on the steering wheel. This is actually a fairly recent amendment to the previously advocated "10 & 2" recommendation from drivers' safety courses, but they have in fact determined that you have at least as much control over your steering from the "4 & 8" position as the "10 & 2", and it is safer in the event of an airbag deployment. I can attest to this 100% because I had my right hand at 4, but I had my left hand at 10, and look at the difference between the injuries just two hours after the accident:
Three months later, the bruise on my left arm STILL isn't completely healed. In the event of a collision, this small change to your driving habits could save you a lot of pain.
- If you are pitched or thrown during the collision, avoid moving until the paramedics get there unless your car is in immediate danger of being hit again. This is also good to know if you are ever the first passerby on the scene of an accident. The kind Samaritans who came to my aid after my wreck immediately pulled me out of the car and took me to the back, because the front-end was perpendicular to the left lane of the highway. However, I was notified by my doctor later that if I had had a neck or spine injury this could have caused major damage to me.
- If you can walk, and you do not appear (by the paramedics) to have a concussion, major internal injuries, or major external wounds on the scene of the accident, you may want to call someone to pick you up and take you to the hospital or GP. Ambulances cost a TON of money, and that will often use up your entire medical deductible, if it is even covered by insurance. If the paramedics are not specifically recommending you be strapped to a gurney, it may do you well to get an alternative ride.
- After a major collision, DO seek medical attention. After my wreck, I waited 12 hours to go to the hospital, because although I was badly bruised, I did not seem to have any deeper pains or broken bones. As it turned out, however, I did not merely have a black eye- I had fractured my eye socket in two places. Eventually this injury required corrective surgery.
- Unless you have the money for another car in the bank, DO include collision coverage on your insurance. I made the choice to save about $200/year on insurance because I considered my car too old to be worth it. While I had liability insurance, this accident was my fault and only involved my car, which was completely totaled. I ended up spending $6000 to replace a car I had owned for 18 months, to save myself $300 on insurance.
- DO keep your car clean. Save yourself a LOT of hassle, because if your car is a total loss you will have to crawl around inside and try to track down all those valuable papers and shoes.
- Don't forget your stickers! I did not think about peeling off my TollTag or parking sticker from my windshield before selling the car for scrap, and I had to pay a fee to replace the parking sticker. I also ran a risk of someone taking and using my TollTag on a different car leaving it there.
- One MORE!!!! ALWAYS have the phone number for a towing company in your wallet or phone! I just let the police call whoever they usually call, and the company charged me about $300 to tow the car less than 5 miles. That is exorbitant and ridiculous. When I called my own company to tow it from the appraiser to my house, over 10 miles, they charged me $75.
Anyway friends, these are the lessons I learned, and I hope it explains a little bit why I have been out of commission for a few months. Y'all stay safe, please!
(And by the way, in case you were worried I'm fine now- my face is totally healed with no permanent damage to anything)
