On Dec. 3rd my son, aged 19, was in a traffic accident. His car was in the shop so he was driving my van....the one I had planned to sell since I no longer use it to drive groups of teens to sports events. It fits 7 kids and all their water polo gear and I was one of the parent volunteers willling to drive and get the necessary insurance that the district required to drive high school kids. I enjoyed it....I got to hear a lot of what was going on in their lives that I wouldn't have heard at all had I not been driving them to games.

He wasn't used to the lousy bouncy suspension in that van and took a turn too fast that had a speed bump installed recently. He rolled over several times.
Luckily nobody else was in the car and no other cars were involved.
He may lose his license....DMV rules. He was in a minor fender bender with another car the week he got his license when he was 16 so now he's in deep shit with DMV.

But here's the deal.....he walked away from THIS:



Why is he still alive? The airbag smashed the seat backwards so he only got head and ear lacerations..... lots of stitches in his head..... and miscellaneous abrasions. Pretty bruised up but he lived.
When I saw the car I burst into tears.....he should have been dead. At the very least he should have been seriously injured...head injury.
I've seen a lot of accident scenes and cars that look like this are usually occupied by a dead or brain dead driver. They don't get out of the car on their own, they are removed.
Of course my main feeling is gratitude. My little boy could have died that night. Yeah, 19 isn't a little boy....unless he's your own.
I sure as hell hope he has learned something about driving safety. I hope that's what comes out of this. He has slowed down now and is a better driver. I'm hoping this was a wake-up call for him.

What happened was bad but not a day goes by now that I don't thank my lucky stars that I still have him and the hassles dealing with insurance and DMV mean nothing to me in terms of what's important and what really has meaning. It's just a car. I've seen a change in him since then. He realizes how close it really was. He missed some school but stayed on the Dean's list.
I can't even begin to tell you all how incredibly grateful I am. Other parents will know exactly what I mean.

I should have let him drive my little Mazda while his car was being worked on but I didn't. I feel guilty about that. My other son doesn't have his license yet and I'm glad. (He just turned 17) but this means I'll be doing a lot more ferrying of both of them again for several months.


We can only protect them so much and then the fates take over. Any time you see your child on a bed in the E.R. it's a scary experience for any parent. I tend to go into "clinical" mode in such situations but this was MY son so it was different.

Again, I just feel incredibly grateful and lucky. This happened for a reason.

Just thought I'd use the Watercooler for the chitchat we're supposed to do here.

The picture of that van sent shivers down my spine. I am glad your son is okay and i'm sure he realizes how lucky he is. Sending kids off into the big world is hard!!! My oldest daughter will be 15 this spring and is biting the bit to get her permit. Her dad and i are happy for this in a way (can you run to the store? can you go pick up your brother or sister?), but it's also scary to think of our baby in control of something as big as a car (and we only have a small car) and encountering unpredictable road conditions and other drivers. She loves the driving video games, and we try to tell her that it is different in real life.
When we drive now, she will point out the slightest mistake or question my judgement and choices while driving.
Man, having kids is tough!!! I can't imagine the feeling of being informed your kid has been in an accident. As i said, i am very glad your boy is okay (and yes, they are always your babies!) and i bet he is going to be a very very careful driver from now on!