Inspired by Highway Don't Care by Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban. Poem based on the Music Video.
*Bang* The sound of the car door echoes throughout the car
I run a hand through my hair
Throwing the key into the ignition
I start the car, revving the engine
I peel out of the parking lot
Leaving the sound of tires squealing
Skid marks, dust and flying gravel
Are left in my wake
The wind blows through the windows
Pulling on my hair
The scenery flies past
And I'm trying not to think of what went wrong
My destination is the only thing on my mind
Pressing the pedal further to the floor
Exhaustion is begging to take over
So I turn on the radio
A song is playing on the station
And the song goes:
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, hm baby"
The highway won't hold me tonight
The highway don't know I'm alive
The highway don't care if I'm all alone
But you do, you do
The highway won't dry my tears
The highway don't need me here
The highway don't care if I'm coming home
But you do, you do
My cellphone is dying in the passenger seat
And I'm definitely bendin' God's ear talking 'bout you
The first tear is threatening to fall out
And I'm trying not to turn around
The sound of the song that's always on fills my ears
So I sing along
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, oh baby"
The highway won't hold me tonight
The highway don't know I'm alive
The highway don't care if I'm all alone
But you do, you do
The highway won't dry my tears
The highway don't need me here
The highway don't care if I'm coming home
But you do, you do
*Ding* The sound of your text draws my attention from the road
But my phone is on the floor
I reach for it
Trying to stay on the road
That song that's been on the radio
It's still playing
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, oh baby"
I look up
Only to see the ditch I'm heading for
I let out a scream
Trying to get the tires straight again
My efforts to stay on the road fail
I enter the ditch
The car flips over
Pinning me underneath it
My ears are still ringing
The smell of blood is filling my nose
Pain fills my body
And everything fades to black
"911, what's your emergency?"
"I just witnessed a roll over accident on Old Charlotte Pike outside of Nashville!"
"Ok. I got your location. Do you know if anyone's injured?"
"Yes! There's a person pinned under the car!"
Red and blue light up the sky
Sirens blaring into the night
Firefighters pull my mangled body from under the car
While paramedics stabilize me
Vanderbilt Lifeflight lands in a nearby field
Alerting Vanderbilt University Hospital of the incoming patient
A trauma team scrambles to prepare
An operating room on standby
Lifeflight soon lands
The trauma team greeting them
My parents were alerted
So was my significant other
The highway don't care
The highway don't care
The highway don't care
But you do, you do
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby"
The trauma team wheels me into the OR
"The highway don't care"
Emergency surgery begins
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby, oh baby"
The cops discover my phone
"But you do, you do"
An unread text from you lights up the screen
"I can't live without you"
A reenactment of the accident is performed
"The highway don't care"
A cause is soon found
"The highway don't care"
The trauma team works to save my life
"The highway don't care"
My parents wait for any news
"The highway don't care"
Hours pass
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby"
But no news yet
"But you do, you do"
The police soon determine a cause of the accident
"The highway don't care"
Texting while driving
"The highway don't care"
Finally, the surgeon emerges
"The highway don't care"
Bearing news of whether I have lived or died
"The highway don't care"
My parents jump up
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, oh baby"
Hoping for good news
"But you do, you do"
The surgeon tells my parents the news
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby"
I survived
Some stats: While this person may have survived, not everyone will. Everyday, 8 people die due to distracted driving/drivers. Texting while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year world wide. Nearly 390,000 injured occur each year from people texting while driving. 1 out of every 4 accidents in the U.S. are caused by this. You are also 6× more likely to cause a crash than a drunk driver. By answering that one text, you are spending 5 seconds away from the road. At 55 MPH (about 89 KPH), that's enough time to cover an American football field with your eyes closed while driving on it. In 2019 in the U.S., an estimated 3,100 were killed in accidents related to distracted driving and an estimated 400,000 were injured in 2018.
PLEASE PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN!!!!! A text can wait! If it's urgent, pull over when you can. Your life or someone else's is on the line if you respond while on the road. Please don't text and drive.
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/dangers-texting-while-driving
https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html#:~:text=The%20National%20Safety%20Council%20reports,caused%20by%20texting%20and%20driving
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