The Dangers of Car Accidents.

 Imagine you got into a car accident. What would be going through your mind? The word car accident caught your attention, didn’t it?  Reading that word thinking what happened, who got hurt, and what caused it is all going through your mind isn’t it? Just seeing a car accident, you just start asking questions to yourself like, what happened, you get scared and start thinking what if that was me.

     What do you think it would be like if you got into a car accident? Ghassan Meltahini, a 43-year-old who was recently in an accident, has the answer to that question.”Well, I was scared beyond my mind because I hate things like car accidents or anything of the sort, the whole time I was thinking of what would happen to my family?”

    24% of accidents that occur are between drivers from the ages of 31-45. In Ghassan’s case, he didn’t get injured, but 11% of all car accidents are fatal, and 35% can lead to severe injuries.

     Even though someone can only sustain minor injuries after a car accident, there is a big financial problem, especially for low-income people who do not have the insurance, or money to cover for the accident.

    People tend to not realize that a car accident can also take a toll on someone mentally. Kent Brown, 32, was very recently in a car accident with his wife and has been having issues mentally after his accident. “My wife and I didn’t sustain any injuries, but with my wife being 4-months pregnant at the time, its no telling what could’ve happened, I’ve just been always thinking about what it could’ve been”.

    9% of car accidents will lead to a serious case of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Recently with many new cases of accidents occurring due to distractions from a phone, one might feel afraid just to have a phone around them in a car.

     Harris Poulsen, 82, has been bound to a wheelchair for 41 years due to a rollover accident, which had occurred as a result of a drunk driver. He has been having trouble financially due to his medical issues. “Ever since my accident, it’s just visiting to the doctor’s, every month I go for a visit, and those bills just stack up, being old it’s very hard to keep up”.

   Costs of accidents can range from $800 to around $24,000.  Many people with low incomes cannot afford insurance so they are left paying off their car accidents for what would seem like a lifetime. Furthermore, if someone were to have sustained injuries, just like Harris Poulsen, they would also be paying expensive medical bills for years to come. “Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes—that’s one person every 48 minutes.”-NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

     In 2017 around 1.6 million car crashes occur as a result of distractions from phones, and over 1 million DUI (driving under influence) arrests occur every year. Many of these accidents can be prevented by having stricter alcohol laws to reduce the number of accidents due to people under the influence of alcohol.

    Also, having phones prevent the ability to text while driving in a car would play a major role in fewer accidents occurring by distractions. There also needs to be more help with people who have PTSD, or any other mental issues due to car accidents, like hotlines, or focus groups. Be careful, remember car accidents can be costly and not just moneywise.

Written By Ahmad Rubaii.

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