Driving Mistake

It was around 2:00 in the afternoon and the teenager was driving her mother’s SUV for the first time. She was always uncomfortable with bigger vehicles because she was a shorter girl and it was a little more difficult to see over the dashboard to her preference. She was driving with her mother to a busy city. She wanted to go to the city because she needed more experience with traffic so she could attain her license. Her mother was trying to be calm, knowing that her daughter might do some things wrong. They started off slow on back roads so that the teenager could get familiar with the SUV. The mother reminded the daughter that she did have special mirrors that can see your blind spot and the teenager remembered that.

They were driving for about half an hour before they went into the city. The teenager was trying to remember all of the information her mother gave her earlier and was starting to sweat because she was getting nervous. They went through a couple of intersections and everything went good but because they were getting into the area where she had never been before, she wasn’t prepared. They came upon a turn where there was a small traffic island with a sign in it dividing two roads. Her mother instructed her to turn right onto the road “After the sign”. The mother was talking about the sign before the first road on the telephone pole. The daughter thought she meant the sign sticking out of the traffic island, but she was wrong. While there was a row of cars behind her, she put her blinker on and started to pull right into the road after the first road and the sign. That road was a exit only and her mother informed her that she missed the turn. The daughter had to decide what to do at this very moment.

As she was trying not to panic, she took a deep breathe. She then proceeded to turn off her right blinker and put her left blinker on to pull into a parking lot that was a little further up. The mother apologized for not being completely clear with her daughter. The teenager also apologized and said she was sorry for not paying more attention. They both were sitting in the car in the parking lot to calm down and talk about what to do next and where to go.

When the daughter and her mother talked about it, she figured out that her mother meant the other road and proceeded to that route. Neither the mother or her were upset because they both understood what they did wrong. They knew they had made a mistake about how they communicated. When they both got home,they talked about what happened in town. The daughter said she fully understands why her not knowing what to do, caused them to miss the turn and have to turn around. She said that she knows she was flustered and even though she didn’t completely understand what her mother meant she went on anyway. Now the daughter knows that even if she thinks she knows or doesn’t know where she is going when someone is giving directions, to double check and double look just like she should have done when she was trying to turn onto the road. Her mother also admitted that she did not clarify what sign she meant which if she did, it would have possible made it better for the daughter. She now knows next time she is giving instructions to someone, do not think that being vague is going to get the person to understand. The lesson they both learned to accept when they got home after this unexpected drive, was that they communicated wrong and that communication is everything. The reasons that they accepted were that If you don’t clarify yourself someone might think something else and make a mistake. Just like when her daughter didn’t understand her when she was driving. Also, that if she didn’t fully understand the traffic route, she need to ask questions to her mother.

Photo on Foter.com