Texting And Driving

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Every teenager thinks they are invincible when they get their license, I myself will admit that I felt this way too. You feel cool pulling into the school parking lot the first day with your license, you think all your friends are staring at you jealous because they don’t have their driver’s licenses yet. Our young ignorance and feeling of being invincible is one of the main reasons why teens text and drive. We think “it won’t happen to us” and that we are better drivers than we are. I just graduated last year and I know every time teachers would show slideshows and lecture us about texting and driving it would go in one ear and out the other.

This problem doesn’t only affect teens, most of our parents also are on their phones while driving. I mean we had to learn it from someone right ?? One of every four car accidents are related to texting and driving, leading to 1.6 million car accidents a year. After doing some research I found a fatal car wreck caused by texting and driving. On July 14, 2017 a recent highschool graduate Bailey Goodman and her four friends were driving to her parents vacation home, in a safe SUV. Bailey was speeding on a windy evening and had sent two text messages just minutes before the crash occurred, police evidence and a thorough investigation showed the wreck was caused by Bailey texting on her phone. The wreck was fatal, killing all five passengers.

I can go on and on about texting and driving and why it’s bad, who it affects most, and the consequences or I can try and find a solution. Now the real question is how can we prevent texting and driving? I know alot of insurance companies offer apps on phones that help you save money on car insurance by tracking your phone while driving, ensuring you aren’t on it while driving. There is always the Apple solution of “Do Not Disturb” which is strongly suggested to turn on while driving. There is also a driving mode on apple phones that silences notifications when you are driving so you don’t have the urge to text someone back or answer an email. There are plenty of solutions but you have to get people to buy in and be willing to use them.

There are lots of options out there such as hands free devices that are available on any vehicle from the early 2000’s. Bluetooth talks to text stereos and buttons on the wheel to enable this feature. Manufacturers of cars and cell phones have given consumers lots of options to keep drivers safe and what it really boils down to is protecting consumers from themselves with more severe consequences for phone usage while driving.

Here are the options I personally use to try and keep myself and other drivers safe. While I’m driving, if I think I will be receiving messages I put my phone on “Do not disturb”. If I don’t have a passenger in the car I will use tactics like out of sight out of mind and simply put my phone in my purse or center console and I won’t be thinking about it. If I do have a passenger in the car I will often have them answer calls, respond to text messages, switch music, or look up directions. Sometimes phone calls are urgent. It’s simple, just I pull my car safely off the road and put it in park to respond, this keeps myself, my passengers, and other people on the road safe.

It’s always important to model safe behavior. Children learn by watching and will think if mom can text and drive, so can I. Driving and being on your phone will influence your child to do the same, and although I am not a parent, I believe most parents can agree that they would never want to do anything to put their child in danger. With new technology growing fast there are plenty of new apps to prevent texting and driving. One driving safety app allows you to earn rewards based on your driving skills. Like speeding, breaking rapidly, running stop lights/ stop signs and especially being on your phone. Practicing good driving etiquette will allow you to earn points which can lead to earning money. Who wouldn’t want to earn money by simply driving good and following laws.

There are plenty of very simple solutions that all drivers can apply to their daily drive or commute to work, school, and everyday errands. It’s pretty easy to protect yourself and other drivers on the road. All it takes is drivers taking the initiative to break their bad driving habits and be smart while driving.