About 18 months ago, my daughter was in a serious car accident and broke her knee. After about six months, she was able to walk again, but she couldn’t bend her knee more than 90 degrees, which made walking and other exercises difficult. She changed her life and began to seriously affect her back.

At the time of the accident, she was driving a small Nissan Micra on the 450 km trip from the university to our house for mid-year break. She swerved sharply over a large pothole, and the car skidded and hit a tree at 100 km/h. The air bags saved her face and body, but her knee was shattered.

Since this happened, there have been so many things I wish I had told you about driving. I wish I had emphasized the importance of the little things that could have spared her all the pain and suffering she had to endure as a young girl.

So I am going to tell them in this article. Maybe save a life, or save some suffering. I hope so. So in random order, here it goes:

When you drive a small car and have it loaded with all your stuff, the car handles differently than when it’s empty. He wallows. So avoid sudden movements, sudden turns. The weight of the car will keep it in a straight line. In those circumstances, it’s often better to hit the pothole, animal, or rock, rather than swerve.

When you approach a rise in the road that you cannot see over, slow down unless you know the road well. Be very vigilant as you go up the climb. Then, once you can see that the path is clear, you can relax a bit again.

When the car is fully charged, go to the service station and have the tires inflated a bit more. About 20% to 30% harder should make it. This will give you more control on the road and is recommended by tire manufacturers anyway. Also, keep your average speed low, perhaps lowering it by 10%. A heavy car takes much longer to stop.

Never take your eyes off the road. Learn where all your controls are in the car, so you can adjust things without looking. You can practice this while waiting at traffic lights, you’re not doing anything else anyway! And of course never use your mobile phone while driving; that’s worse than drunk driving, your focus is even less on what’s going on around you.

Do not place loose things around you in the car, especially heavy things and things like glass bottles, etc. In a collision, these things turn into missiles. A glass bottle with a small plant came out of the back seat of the car and did not hit my daughter’s head, but did open a hole in the windshield.

Once you’ve learned how to drive, get on a non-slip platform and practice getting on and off the skids so you can get familiar with your car. If there is no slip pad near you, try to find a large, flat area of ​​loose gravel and practice going sideways there. Make sure you have LOTS, LOTS of room to stop safely if you lose control in a skid. Start slowly and gradually build your confidence. When you know what to do in a drift, it makes a world of difference when you accidentally get into one.

If you’re shopping for a small car, watch crash safety videos on YouTube and see how your desired car handles crash tests before you decide to buy it. Some of the Chinese cars just crumple up and crush the poor dummy inside!

In bad weather, slow down a lot. If he’s here, go real slow.

Let your family of friends know where you are at regular intervals, or let one of them track you on their mobile phone.

I hope this helps. My daughter just had a second operation to rebuild her knee so she can bend it properly and it seems to have gone well so I hope she gets her life back. There are so many things that she still wants to do!

So be careful, go slow and be safe. May all your travels be happy.