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Buckle Up For "LIFE"May 30 '00 Write an essay on this topic.It was the day after Thanksgiving last year. My son and his two friends wanted a ride to their friends house. The drive was about 30 miles from where we were, in the next town. I was reluctant because we live off the freeway that is the direct route to Las Vegas. Thanksgiving weekend is bumper to bumper all the way. After reading a couple of reviews by Altaloma on the importance of wearing your seat belt, I feel compelled to throw my two cents in because neither my son nor I, would be here today if it weren't for our seat belts. I finally agreed because there is a back road that not to many out of towners know about, and that's the route we would take. Let me tell you a little bit about this back road. We live in the desert so you won't find much of anything out there except, tumble weeds, joshua trees, an old house here and there, but for the most part, just a whole lot of desert. The road we traveled is a two lane highway with many hills and blind curves. I was driving, my son was in the passenger seat and his friends were in the back seat. We were traveling north bound, at about 50 mph. The speed limit on that road is 55. About halfway into our drive, I glanced over at my son and noticed, he wasn't wearing his seat belt. I said "Michael, put your seat belt on" he moaned and groaned about his clothes getting wrinkled, and after me threatening to turn the car around and go home, he finally agreed. Not five minutes after he put his seat belt on, I was coming around one of those blind curves. In my lane, coming straight at me was another car traveling southbound passing four cars, I had no where to go, on the left were the cars she was passing, on the right, a big dirt embankment. I tried to move over to the right in order to let her have the lane and still keep us safe, but, she must have panicked also, because she went in the same direction I was going. It was no use, we were going to hit head on, and there was no where else to go. I locked my elbows and held on tightly to the wheel and said a prayer, "God let it be quick, and don't let these kids suffer." We hit with such a force that my right front tire and rim went flying, the entire right side of my car was gone. My car slid about 150 feet before it finally came to a stop up in the desert. I was in such a state of shock that after impact, the next thing I remembered was my son shaking me and yelling, "Mom, are you OK?" If we had not been wearing our seat belts that day, the outcome would have resulted in much worse than a totaled car. My car was replaced, but no amount of insurance coverage could have brought back the lives that might have been lost that day had it not been for seat belts. I can tell you one person that has learned a very valuable lessen here, my son. It's worth it to re-iron your clothes than to go through the windshield of a car.  |
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