Judgement Through Experience

“I love this song!” My friend yelled over the music blaring loud enough for my ears to ache.  On a road with a 30 mile per hour speed limit, she drove 45, eager to get through the windy roads and reach Rota’s, a local ice cream shop.  With every turn she made, she jerked the car at the last possible moment to stay on the narrow roads belonging to rural Massachusetts. While I was silently stressing in the backseat and my friends were bolting out the lyrics to “Fireball” by Pitbull, I noticed she had her phone out.   

“Ella?” I asked, voice drowned out by the music.  Our other friend looked back at me, also concerned.  Peeking at the speedometer, I could see that she had slowed down a bit, but it didn’t make me feel any better.  

I leaned forward.  “Ella!”  

“What’s up?” She called.

“I don’t think you should be looking at your phone.”

She laughed.  “Don’t worry, Aizhan.  I’m not gonna crash.”  

“Still, I get nervous when people use their phone while driving.  You’re not focusing on the road,” I said.  

After that, she stopped using her phone while she drove.  A lot of my friends know that texting while driving is bad (and illegal) but they still go on their phones periodically to change the music if they have an aux cord.  When that happens, I offer to change the songs for them and remind them that even though they may only look down at their phones for a moment to change the song, any distraction is dangerous.  I don’t want to sound like a pest, but it does make me concerned for their safety, and the safety of other drivers as well. 

I’m not perfect, either.  There are times when I’m driving and I get the urge to look at my phone to see what my new notification was or check the temperature or whatever comes to my mind.  However, I always ignore that impulse, partially because of a woman I met a few years ago at the club where I play tennis.  She was always at the sports center, and my father spoke with her while waiting for me to finish my tennis lesson because I didn’t have a license yet.  The woman told him that she had her license revoked because she got into a car accident on the highway looking down at her phone, resulting in death and putting her on probation.  Every time I get the impulse to look at my phone, I think of that accident and the impulse goes away.  I also don’t have an aux cord in my car, so I don’t spend time using my phone to change the music.  If someone is tempted to check their phone or do anything distracting while driving, they should remind themselves of the importance of being a responsible driver, because more accidents than can be counted have been caused by even fleeting diversions. It is everyone’s duty to pay attention on the road and encourage others to practice safe driving. Whenever I’m in the car with someone who is on their phone or has otherwise diverted their attention from driving, I am obliged to speak up and teach them of the dangers of distracted driving to reduce the chances of having a motor vehicle crash. 

I have never been in a car accident. My father is the big reason why.  He never uses his cell phone or drinks while driving and is always alert.  He taught me the basics of driving in my middle school parking lot on our manual car.  If there is one thing I will never forget from his lessons, it is this: to always come to a complete stop at a stop sign.  Because of him, I am always mindful of not rolling through stop signs, and I advise my friends to do the same.  Another important factor to safe driving is attending driver’s education classes.  The majority of my knowledge on driving came from those courses and drive times.  In those classes I learned important laws regarding driving, the meanings of road signs, mechanical skills, vehicle maintenance, and the importance of practicing safe driving.  If I had skipped taking driver’s education and waited until I was 18 to get my license, I can say with confidence that I would not be as good of a driver today.  While the impulse to read a text or not bother buying an Uber to get a ride home because you’re “not that drunk,” is strong, it’s important to ignore it because accidents can always happen.  While I’m not perfect myself, I hope that this essay can teach someone the importance of being a responsible driver.