By Danna Downing
I thought I had a pretty good recipe for driving safely. But I met my match on June 4, at the intersection of the Portage Market Place, Westnedge, and the I-94 overpass. I purposely chose to enter the traffic with a right hand turn just north of the overpass. But the traffic was heavy, with seven lanes, lots of signs, multiple signals and a quick choice of lanes required to avoid merging onto westbound I-94.
I failed the test. I had my left-hand blinker on but must have drifted over or should have moved more quickly to avoid a collision from behind. In terms of the law, I “failed to merge safely.” I ended up being the ticketed driver, despite all my best efforts to move safely into the flow of traffic. It was scary, costly, embarrassing, and frustrating. However, we were fortunate that no one was injured, and the vehicular damage was deemed “minimal.”
The short-term effects of my error were tolerable, improved with a good night’s rest. The long-term implications are more difficult to address. I woke up with more complicated questions.
Where exactly did I go wrong?
I drove back to the scene to evaluate what had happened. I went when the traffic would not be so heavy and did a drive-through five times. I managed to create a rough schematic that revealed the complexity of the navigation. I made a careful inventory of all the ways I was attempting to drive safely (striving to make only right hand turns in a business zone, being not distracted by social media, food, or my passengers. I had signaled my intended path.
We both had our seat belts (lap and shoulder) on. It was clear that the complexity of the intersection and the challenges of managing cars on all sides of my car were key to my downfall. It was also clear that I picked a terrible time to be on Westnedge Avenue.
Did this accident mean I should no longer be driving?
Well, the jury is still out, so to speak. However, I believe this is not the end, but rather an opportunity to do better. I thought about the last time I took driving instruction when I was in my 40s and arranging 55 Alive classes, an AARP program for older drivers. I thought about how hard it is for a person who prefers the slow lane and wonders about what impact my aging has had on her driving.
I thought about all the new road designs there are in our community, and how many different kinds of vehicles there are on the roads. I thought about my Aunt Lola, a Dominican nun, who made us all laugh when she told about the time she got out of a speeding ticket, by telling the nice young officer: “I’m sorry dear, but I was just trying to get to the church before I had an accident!”
I decided to sign up for the I Drive Safely program which the Secretary of State’s Office recommends for older drivers. It is a self-paced online program and simple to use. It is very comprehensive and up to date. I am glad I jumped on board.
Not maintaining lane position and failure to yield right of way were #1 and #4 on the list of the top 12 things that cause vehicle crashes. Annually, one of 10 of us is involved in a vehicle crash.
I Drive Safely offers 9 levels of learning which cover all 3 elements of the driving experience: Roadways. Vehicles. Drivers. Each of the modules contains small digestible, well-written sections, helpful videos , and a practice quiz which must be passed to proceed to the next level. I am now studying for my final exam.
My key takeaways are:
- I need to do a much more detailed visual search every moment I am driving. My son would say, “I told you that, Mom!”
- If I had followed my own rule to always plan driving trips before I take the wheel, I would have been much more likely to have avoided my crash. This side trip to the pet store was an impromptu decision. I usually plan to avoid Westnedge Avenue if at all possible. I usually try to do my appointments and errands early in the day when I am most fresh.
- I learned wonderful lessons about managing the space around my vehicle having learned important lessons about speed as it relates to physical forces in a wide range of driving environments.
- I also learned life-saving techniques to use in case my vehicle fails me, or I encounter dangerous situations on the road.
I am committed to using what I learned to drive more safely, and I would encourage others to consider driver refresher opportunities as well.
