| text by: Kathryne Ogrod, translated by: Elsa Zhang
从那年夏天决定和达琳一起住到现在已经三年了，我们成为了彼此最好的朋友。她没有自己的车，也很少去看望她的祖父祖母。所以我们特意选了一天去她祖父祖母的房子看望他们。那天我们玩得很开心，特别是那顿难得的家庭大餐，对于学生来讲实在是一种奢侈。回去的时候我让达琳驾驶汽车，因为她对路线更熟悉一些，但最后我们还是迷路了。
在走过一段崎岖蜿蜒的小路之后，最后我们决定返回公路上去。由于迷路，达琳显得很沮丧，其实在碎石小路上行驶，汽车最容易失去控制了。这次也不例外，在汽车向公路上靠近的过程中，达琳开始恐慌，不停地踩刹车，不幸的是一切举动无济于事，达琳最终失去了控制。汽车翻了。我只记得我当时一直在祈祷……
在翻车前，汽车是先撞到了一个邮箱上，又陷进了路边的沟渠里。好在轮子陷进了泥土里，让我们有生还的可能。这之后大约五至十秒钟的时间，我的大脑一片空白，惊吓占据了我的所有意识，甚至不知道当时发生了什么，当我清醒之后看着我身边的达琳，说的第一句话是：“你还好吧？”
在我们都还是孩子的时候就接受过安全教育，永远带上安全带，是最重要的一项。现在很多人觉得带着安全带一点都不酷，然而今天我之所以能幸免遇难，正是因为我没有忘记小时候受过的教育。
事情发生后，有人问我：“你有没有对你的好朋友很生气？”没有，真的没有，那在我看来只是一生中很多事故中的其中之一，我很高兴我和她能够一起从那次事故中走出。虽然她的膝盖撞伤很严重，我的背部同样落下了重伤，并且要陪伴我度过今后的日子。
到现在我还经常看到一些自以为是的人们为了耍酷让安全带闲置在车上，他们的借口是：当要发生事故的时候我自然会带上安全带。但是谁又知道什么时候会发生什么？正因为无法预知，才被称之为以外。交通是最危险的，即使你是世界上最好的司机也是一样的。因为你可以控制你自己，但你无法控制其他人，他们会在不正确的时间开车到街道上，或者一个很小的驾驶失误就会要了你的命。每个人都知道生命的重要性，那么就从安全带做起吧。
I had been friends with Darlene for three years when we decided to live together one summer. She did not own a car and she was rarely able to visit her grandparents who lived far away. One day, we both decided to take a road trip to her grandparent’s house. We had fun talking and playing cards together while enjoying good homemade food – a luxury when you are in college. When we had to go back, I told Darlene to drive because she knew the way back better than I. We still ended up getting lost……
On a long gravelly road we finally decided to turn around and go the long way back to the highway. Darlene was upset that she had lost her way and she tried to make up for it by driving fast. She did not realize it but on gravel, it is easy for a car to lose traction. The car started to slide around on the road. Darlene got scared and stomped on the brake. The car locked up. Darlene had lost control. The car flipped. I remember praying everything would be ok.
The car had hit a mail box and then a ditch before it flipped on its side. Luckily for us, the wheels had gotten stuck in the mud and we rolled back right side up. After the accident, there was about 5- 10 seconds of pure silence. It wasn’t even possible to think at that moment due to the shock of what had just happened. I looked at my friend and the first words out of my mouth were, “Are you ok!?!”
We were both trained since the time we were kids to ALWAYS wear our seat belts. To this day, I know several people who refuse to wear seat belts because they think it isn’t “cool.” I am alive today because I wore my seat belt and I think that is pretty darn cool.
The one question people ask me when they hear this story is, “Weren’t you mad at your friend for wrecking your car?” No, it was an accident and in life many accidents will occur. I am so happy that we were both able to walk away from that accident. She hit her knee really hard in that crash and although nothing was broken, she still has pain in it to this day. I still have bad back aches and I will have to live with that pain for the rest of my life. At least I have the rest of my life to experience.
I cringe every time I see someone get into a car without putting on their seat belt. I hear excuses like: seat belts are useless, they don’t look cool, or I will put it on if I think something is going to happen. You never know when an accident will happen. That is why it is called an accident. Cars can be very dangerous; even if you do everything right and you are the safest driver in the world, it doesn’t matter. Someone else can step into the street at the wrong time or another driver may make a mistake that will cost you your life. Life is so precious; it should be valued and protected everyday with a seat belt.
| 
