Better Left Unread Than Dead

It is an all too familiar sight. A billboard flashes an ominous warning, “Better Left Unread Than Dead,” a message that inspires a brief moment of fear before falling on deaf ears. Like my other teenage friends, we associate distracted driving with texting on the phone. However, it is important to know that the split second your eyes leave the road, it could lead to unsafe driving no matter the age or experience level.

I have been driving for over two years and although I feel experienced, I still heed every light, stop at every stop sign, and drive at the speed limit. By practicing safe driving, I thought I wouldn’t get into an accident.

My rude awakening came when I was about to come home from band practice one day. I was turning left on a green arrow when a teenager in a white sedan ran a red light hitting my car. When we met to exchange insurance information, she repeatedly apologized, stating that she was simply just changing the song in her playlist. In that one second, she was distracted enough to run a red light and hit someone making a protected turn. I was fortunate enough to walk away from the accident with only a dented car and a bruised chest from the seatbelt, however, not every victim of distracted driving is that lucky.

After this experience, I started to research the statistics of accidents that occur because of distracted driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2,841 people were killed in motor vehicle crashed involving distracted drivers in 2018 alone. This was one of the many statistics surrounding distracted driving that was alarming enough to compel me to take action.

Since my parents and I drive, with my younger brother in the process of obtaining a permit in the coming year, I needed to make a family plan for driving safely. After sitting down with them, we decided that we would all sign a pact to be more aware on the road and prevent ourselves from becoming distracted. We all promised to use the handy feature in our iPhones called “Do Not Disturb While Driving.” This feature allows our phones to automatically detect when we are driving and will mute all of our notifications, preventing them from popping up on our phones.

Ever since I started using this feature, I began to go around my school and inform other students about the dangers of distracted driving. Driving education is an important tool in reducing the number of deaths. By allowing people to know the consequences of their actions as well as steps they can do to prevent various ramifications from their behavior will help limit deaths from distracted driving. I emphasized that while texting and driving play a large part in distracting drivers, features like listening to music or talking to friends over the phone can also have detrimental consequences. Furthermore, I taught my friends defensive driving. By being aware and reacting to someone else’s mistake can be a powerful countermeasure to distracted driving. Reminding each other and holding each other to a higher standard of safety can help protect your loved ones and make the road a safer place for everyone.