Keep Your Eyes on The Road, Not The Phone

I want you to think back to the time when you first got your license. Were you scared, happy, excited, or even all of those emotions combined? I know I was terrified until I started gaining more confidence and comfort. As time went on I found myself becoming more distracted and impatient. Instead of leaving extra space for the car in front of me, I began riding them, and instead of me waiting to change a song I began using my phone while driving. My subconscious always yells at me for being in the wrong but my conscious always finds a way to justify my actions. Whether it’s saying to myself “At least I made it to my destination” or “I won’t do that again I promise.” It’s all lies to try to make you feel better about being in the wrong since no one likes to admit their wrongdoings.

I say all this not to throw myself under the bus but to speak for all teens who drive. Sadly though, some people experience traumatic car accidents before they can even hit the gas pedal. An example of this would be my best friend Katelyn. A few years back she and her family got into a terrible accident in Texas. A driver wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings and ran a red light causing my best friend and her family’s car to flip 4 times in the air. Reading that may come as a shock, but what’s even more unbelievable is the fact that everyone lived and had little to no injury. My best friend has since suffered horrible PTSD and lower back pain. It pained me that something so stupid can we take your life away in the blink of an eye. I can full-heartedly say my best friend has never been her true self since then. Every time we watched an educational car crash video for driver’s ed she would always look away or flinch hard with tears forming in her eyes.

Seeing the way she reacts to those videos breaks my heart and constantly causes me to reflect on my driving skills. Is the text message that important to read? Is speeding worth the ticket? The answer to both of those questions is simply NO! I could never bring it upon myself to cause a family the same pain that my best friend had to go through. Seeing her break down into tears will always be one of those memories that stick with you forever. Not being able to go back in the past to prevent it all from happening kills me inside. I can say, though, that this situation has caused her to become a strong, young individual who drives the safest I have ever seen.

Not only did my best friend get in a horrible accident but my father did as well. About 6 or 7 years ago my dad was driving home from work when all of a sudden he got T- boned on the driver’s side. This caused him to suffer back and neck pain leaving him in the hospital for days for surgery. This wasn’t his first rodeo, in the past, my dad has been the victim of a few more car accidents. I don’t think people truly understand how bad a car crash can affect you. My dad had to stay home for months in order to fully recover. Leaving us with a very low income but you never see anyone talking about that. You never see anyone bring up how hard it is to get by when you are out of work paying for someone’s stupid mistake. Those months were super hard to get by, not having much food or being late on bills, it all was a lot to go through especially as a child who didn’t completely understand what was going on.

After reflecting on both of these incidents I have realized that being on your phone while driving has to be one of the stupidest things you could possibly do. Not only does it jeopardize your life but it can jeopardize another person, their family, kids, pets, etc. It’s super important to keep your eyes on the road and constantly check your surroundings. A text message or call can always wait until your car is stopped and parked. Next time you even think about reaching for your cell phone remember all of the damage or hurt it has caused families to lose someone they love by being on their phone while driving.