Moments are known to change one’s life completely. Something beautiful or drastic could happen just in a minutes’ time and could alter the way one thinks or behaves altogether. Such was the case with me, when an incident on the 30th of October, 2012, changed the way I drove. It was my birthday. The day had been going well except the few delays before the party at Boat Club. I was anxiously waiting for nightfall since quite a few of my old friends were turning up this time: most of them were studying abroad and it had been a while since I had met them. The celebrations were under way by half past nine and a couple of hours later, the guests had started to leave. By the time everyone had left, it was a quarter to twelve and my best friend was the only one left since I had to drop him home on my way back. It was late and my parents had started calling my phone so we rushed out and into my car. The roads were quiet and empty since it was past midnight on a weekday. I was driving over the speed limit. I distinctly remember my friend telling me to slow down, and, using the phrase “better late than never”. I turned towards him, looking at his face over the rim of my glasses, and said “don’t worry, you know how I drive. I’ve got this!” I had been driving for a few years so I was confident about myself but what soon followed shattered all my confidence and courage since after that night. The car was going at a 100 km/hr and just when I crossed Pizza Hut at the Mai Kolachi – Boat basin intersection, a man came running on to the road and on seeing my car approaching him, stopped, trying to go back. I barely had a couple of seconds to react. It was too late to hit the brakes so I turned the steering wheel to a side.
There was no doubt that I had saved the man’s life but my car, going at over a 100 km/hr, hit the divider on the right side of the road, bounced off and hit the foot path on the opposite side of the road and rebounded, landing right in the center. For a few seconds, my mind could not register what had happened but soon after, the pain kicked in. The car and I were a mess and the man ran away probably because he realized he would get into deep trouble had he stayed to help us out.
A broken right arm, 2 cracked ribs and a windshield cracked at three different points by my head was what it took for me to really understand what my friend meant when he told me to slow down. Two weeks after the incident, I was back to driving the same car. But then on, there was a different driver on the wheel. I became cautious and especially more careful at intersections. I started to drive slower than generally would. Speeding on empty roads would bring back a flash of what had happened that night and I would quickly slow down so as to avoid any further accidents, even if they weren't my fault. I had learnt that prevention was better than a cure.