When my cousin passed away due to a car accident, I’ve become very particular with the safety features of whatever car I get in to. It is like my new obsession: I never fail to check if the breaks work, if the tires are in perfect condition, if the seat belts are comfortable (and durable!), if the front and back lights really function… All the time I remember my cousin’s untimely death and I get angry with the fact that her death could have been prevented had necessary precautions were in place. Her car, which had a malfunctioning seatbelt and backlights, was the main culprit why she did not survive. These “little” things are often disregarded until tragedy strikes.
A week after her burial, I had my car thoroughly checked for safety reasons. True to what I feared, some safety features of my car were absent. For one, it didn’t have a rain guard and the windows were too transparent. That could potentially disable me from seeing clearly while driving especially on a sunny day. My car also did not have a properly visible tail light and that spelled trouble. I asked my good friend to look for the auto accessories I needed to make my car safer. Hurriedly, I had my car redesigned to make it accident-proof as much as possible.
The first thing I did was to have my front window tinted so as to protect me from the blinding light of the sun. Rain guards were also attached in the side and back windows so as to make me see clearly when it rains. Next, my car’s tail lights were made brighter to allow other drivers to see my car clearly. I know that to someone who hasn’t experienced death in the family due to a car accident, these things may sound unnecessary. But the truth is, we need to take these “little” but necessary steps to ensure that our cars have the best safety features available.