Accident. Life Over?

Well I screwed up today. I was driving my dads car home from Walmart and I was behind a pickup in a turnaround. He went like he was going to merge into traffic. So I went forward a little bit and checked to see if I was in the clear. I had plenty of room to merge into traffic so I pulled out... Except the pickup was still there. I hit the back of his truck and cracked a taillight and bent in his fender. The damage to my dads car was worse though. The headlight was cracked, the fender messed up and the plastic of the wheel arch was bent in towards the wheel.

I've always prided myself in being a careful driver and not having any accidents. Ever since I got a speeding ticket over 2 years ago I have been serious about driving safely. But I feel like I really screwed myself over here. I probably ruined my future career today, not to mention that I have to give all of my savings to pay for the damage. Is there any chance that I will get hired as a driver in two years when I turn 21 with a speeding ticket and an accident on my record?

I'll just be here, hitting my head against the wall...

You will be just fine. The ticket will be 4 years removed and the accident 2 years. What you have to do now is be even more careful with your driving. Give yourself more room, slow your speed and drive defensively. Don't automatically think that the police will give you a 5 mph buffer on speeding. Keep your nose clean and you will be fine.

Oh and get your butt out of bed earlier so that you will not be running late. I see this all the time with people rushing to get to work. I always go by the mantra that I would rather be 30 minutes early than 10 minutes late.

You're hireable.

Yeah you'll be fine. You might get some companies that won't allow an at-fault accident within a certain time frame but otherwise you'll be fine.

I'm not sure how other states operate but, in Texas: I believe it's kept up to 15 years. 3 years for the "points system" (DRP; Supposedly supposed to be abolished years ago, but still active).

In Texas: You can take a 'defensive driving' course, and the ticket/points are removed (court record simply reflects "DEFENSIVE DRIVING" and nothing else).

Every state is different. Every county in Texas for that matter.. You can also have speeding tickets and other traffic violations expunged (special circumstances.. If you can convince the judge after the fact, and a period of time has elapsed).

Alright it sounds like I'll be okay. I'll see if I can take a defensive driving course to get it off of my record. And I definitely need to be more careful.