Name: Justin James Cardona
From: Summerville, SC
Votes: 34
“Resist
the Ping”
The
topic of drive distracted or die, is an uncomfortable topic. I care
about my peers and their safety and if you truly care for someone,
you talk about things that could make their life better and nurture
their beliefs to include making wise decisions. Teen drivers need
experience, a hard truth, and entering the driving world to the best
of their ability is a must.
The
first step to teen driving is to receive drivers ed. The driver
education I received consisted of a full day of classroom instruction
and videos followed by one-on-one driving days with my instructor.
Driving is second nature to experienced drivers and teens need the
practice and the instruction repeatedly so that processes become
habit. I also personally feel receiving instruction from someone
other than you parents, is vital. While parent hosted practice is a
must, there is something about having another adult also instruct you
so the personal aspect is not there while learning and also the other
bonus is these driver instructors have been working with teens for a
long time and know how to speak our language.
With
all the responsibilities that come with driving, drivers need to be
100% focused on the road, especially teen drivers who have so much to
learn and experience. Teenagers are usually more likely to cause
automobile accidents than older, more experienced drivers. They are
so overcome with the newfound freedom of driving that they can be
reckless.
On
top of the new responsibility of driving, we get such pleasure from
our Smartphone. Anticipating what message awaits us after we hear an
alert, is it similar to the anticipation of eating your favorite
food. It has to do with our addictive nature and how our brain
instinctively responds to that “ping” sound coming from our
phone. Our brain gets a hit of dopamine, a chemical that leads to an
increase in arousal, energizing the reward circuity in our brains
when we hear the “ping” and we feel the urge to instantly check
our phone. This is a lack of self-control. The message of resisting
distracted driving needs to be reinforced often.
While
in high school, I participated in an “Avoid the Ping” message. I
brought up distracted driving and how teens are more impacted by this
decision than by any other event you may hear about in the media. I
also shared stories about teen drivers who were texting and crashed
into someone. Those type stories ended with the distracted teen
wishing they waited to use their phone and were so lucky their bad
choice did not end in death.
A
student loan for seven years of college is enough to make this
college freshman nervous. Being awarded the “Drivers ed
Initiative” scholarship contest would prove a positive affirmation
for me becoming a physical therapist and give me the resources to
reach my goal of enhancing people’s lives, which will include
reminding my patients to also take care of their health on the roads.
