Alex was excited to finally get his license. He was looking forward to going to the movies and to visit friends without needing someone to take him.
A couple weeks later, Alex was headed to his friend Matt’s house. Two blocks from Matt’s, Alex waited at a stop sign when he felt a sudden jolt. Someone had rear-ended his car. Alex started panicking — and his first thought was “What do I do now?”
Car Crashes
Driving is probably the most dangerous thing most of us will ever do. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are more than 30,000 deaths and over 2 million injuries from motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. every year.
Although you do your best to drive responsibly and defensively, it’s still smart to know what to do just in case you end up in a collision. Crashes can be very scary, but here are some tips if one happens to you:
Take some deep breaths to get calm. After a crash, a person may feel a wide range of emotions — shock, guilt, fear, nervousness, or anger — all of which are normal. But take a few deep breaths or count to 10 to calm down. The calmer you are, the better prepared you will be to handle the situation. This is the time to take stock of the accident and try to make a judgment about whether it was a serious one.
