The Importance of Driver Safety in the Modern World

The world is becoming increasingly fast-paced in many different aspects. Cell Phones are becoming smarter and more interactive and cars are becoming more technologically advanced, introducing concepts such as all-electric power, hands free technology and auto-pilot. In this day and age, driver safety should be among one of the most important aspects of education. Every year the number of deaths related to distractions, including cell phones, is rapidly increasing. According to www.nhtsa.gov, in 2018, 2,841 people were killed and at least 400,000 people were injured in car accidents caused by distracted driving. These numbers are truly astounding, and more efforts need to be taken to solve such a tragic issue.

Just this year, a law was put into effect that stated that holding any type of device, including cell phones and tablets, would be prohibited. This would be punishable by at most a $500 fine. Although this law is somewhat effective, it by all means does not completely stop this problem. In 2003, Hands-free technology for cell phones was introduced to keep them out of your hands and your eyes on the road to prevent any kind of accident. Some argued that these technologies actually increased the amount of accidents on the road, but the governments including the UK and Australia do not recognize this minority of complaints. This is all pointing to the fact that distracted driving has been and is still a terrible problem and governments around the world are trying their best to instate constitutional laws to prevent the increasing number of deaths related to distracted driving.

I, myself, have witnessed how bad of a problem this can be. For 5 years I lived on the intersection of a busy road called Center St. and US Highway 40. I witnessed my fair share of car accidents and they all had a common theme; the one who had struck another vehicle had been looking at their cell phone. There were a good amount of “fender-benders” and a few accidents ending with serious injury. As a driver myself, I have made a promise to never even look at my phone while driving. It goes in my center console and stays there until I reach my destination. Living in Plainfield, Indiana for several years, I’ve come to witness how bad rush hour traffic can be, So I need to keep a close eye on how safe I drive.

I have a solution to this rampant problem. All cell phones need to be equipped with default technology that senses if you are moving at driving speeds(15+ mph). At the point it senses the speed, it will not allow you to open the lock screen until you have reached your destination or have come to a complete stop. I personally believe that this safety feature will not only help lessen the wrecks related to distracted driving, but maybe it could get close to eliminating it.

Distracted driving is obviously a huge issue, not only in the US, but all over the world. There should be more education put into place that teaches the true dangers of distracted driving and technology that cuts off the use of devices in moving vehicles. Hopefully these ideas will be brought to the light and action will be taken to eliminate casualties and make the roads safer.