Staying Safe Behind the Wheel

My truck after my car accident (taken September 2019).

No one ever plans on being involved in a car accident, and neither did I as I headed home from work in September 2019. I was driving my truck at the time, a 2010 Ford F150, headed down a 2-way, 35 MPH stretch of road. I noticed a Cadillac sedan waiting to turn across my lane to enter a shopping mall, and waiting to turn out of the shopping mall was another Ford truck. The closer I got to the sedan the more the driver began to inch closer to crossing into my lane to make their turn. I found it odd but assumed surely they wouldn’t cross into my lane. But at the absolute worst time for the driver to make their turn, they made their turn—right in front of me with no time to even brake. My truck slammed into the Cadillac and I was pushed a couple feet into the truck waiting to leave the shopping mall. My truck came to sharp stop. 

But at 35 MPH my truck hit the Cadillac hard enough to send it spinning backwards, hitting a Chevy truck and sending it spinning up and over a curb. The Cadillac itself then jumped the curb and slid up a slight hill headed straight toward a 1st floor apartment where a child was staring out the window watching the scene unfold. I watched the mother a few feet from him quickly grab him and run away from the window. The Cadillac stopped just shy of the window and slid back down the hill. After watching everything happen within 10 seconds time I quickly called 911 and then my wife to let her know I was in an accident but was fine. 

The Cadillac after the accident (taken September 2019).

Upon trying to get out of my truck I realized the front, driver-side fender had been crushed and was pinching my door panel, preventing it from opening. I managed to pop the door open and carefully made my way across the street to check on the driver of the Cadillac who's car had suffered the most damage. Once there I noticed it was an elderly woman who was in shock and needed medical attention. Her car’s airbags had deployed and the front of her car was crumpled and smoking. Along with a couple bystanders we began to help her out of the vehicle. I don’t remember the rest for certain, but we must have removed her from her car and gently laid her down in the grass away from her vehicle in case it caught fire. 

Once the police and ambulance arrived, I provided the information I needed to, and headed back to my truck. I was able to get it started again, but the front of the truck shook with the damage it had suffered. With the truck self-forced into “limp mode” to prevent further engine damage, I was able to slowly drive home and there process everything that had happened. After calling my insurance company and having the damage assessed a few days later, I learned that my truck was totaled. I was devastated as I loved that truck to literal pieces, but I was grateful for God’s protection and the damage my truck took so I could stay safe.

The Takeaway

I hope you've never been in a car accident nor will be, but it's reassuring to know your car can keep you safe… but not all will. If you've ever watched YouTube videos on the most unsafe cars being crash tested, it makes you think twice about driving just any car, especially with your loved ones in the car with you. Cars’ structural integrity/airbags are half the battle with automotive safety though, and the other half is avoid the accident in the first place. Significant improvements have been made in the last 15 years to cars structural integrity, and collision avoidance technology began entering the American market in mass the late 2010s, and thankfully it's now hard to find a brand new car without a full suite of standard safety tech. Collision avoidance technology doesn't always work perfectly though, but truthfully, it should never replace you keeping your eyes on the road and being the driver.

What do you drive right now? Is it a safe car? If you don’t know, do a quick Google search to check. You may even be able to watch the actual crash test video of your specific car model. To this day I am grateful I was driving a safe vehicle during my accident, and we want you driving a safe car too! 

So if you’re looking for a safer car or with more collision avoidance features, start thinking about you want this next car to do for you. If you’re car shopping, make it count and check as many other boxes as you can. We’ve also got just the thing to help with your search—The Smart Car Buyer’s Guide that walks you through every step of finding the RIGHT car for you. Or if you’re confident in your car searching skills, take our Test Drive Checklist (also included in The Smart Car Buyer’s Guide package) with you that has valuable reminders of what to check on a used vehicle to help ensure it’s a solid choice. 

Have you ever had close calls on the road that made you grateful for your car? Or maybe close calls that made you think twice about what you’re driving? Comment below!