Road Safety Recipe

Tears flooded my eyes as I sat behind an endless row of red taillights snaking miles down the street. It was the worst day of my life, and little did I know, it could have been worse. That disastrous day began with the SAT. No one is ever excited to take a test that could essentially determine their future and, on top of that, is notorious for running late. That day, in particular, I was anxious to finish the test because I had my softball Senior night at 1 pm, which was possibly the last game of my high school career.

After I checked in, I took a seat by the window and got out my pencils. I noticed only one other person in the classroom. “No big deal,” I thought. “We will still start on time.”

As the twenty minutes passed, butterflies fluttered in my stomach because it was time to begin the test, but we did not start. Another hour passed, and we still had not started. I began to panic because I had planned just enough time to get from the testing center to my senior night game. However, we were an hour past schedule, and I could potentially miss the most important game of my high school career. When we began the test, I could not draw my attention from the things I would possibly miss. My heart pounded in my chest as I thought, “ I won’t get to walk the field, or play in my last game.”

As soon as the test let out, I sprinted to my car, ignited the engine, and zoomed out of the parking lot. I felt wetness on my cheek only to wipe up and find tears. I blinked them away as my eyes bounced between the road and my dash clock. Swerving between cars, flying at least ten miles over the speed limit, I tried to escape the ticking clock that count down to missing one of the most important events of my high school career. Thinking that listening to my favorite song would soothe my raging anxiety, I reached over to my phone and pulled up Spotify. I briefly looked away from the road to press play until suddenly I glanced up, and there was an enormous line of braked cars not even 20 feet in front of me. I slammed on the breaks as I skid to a stop. My heart was beating double-time, and I began to sob, barely able to see the red tail like less than a few inches from my car.

I was distracted by so many things, from my phone to the time. I had not even noticed the cars right in front of me. Countless teens have had similar experiences to my own, whether they were also distracted by their phones or not mentally aware enough to get behind the wheel. Although my life was spared, some teens who experience car accidents are not as lucky. Teens need to take initiative by implementing this recipe of healthy driving habits into their daily driving.

1 cup of the hands-off rule

Teens should check all their text messages and start a playlist or a radio station while the vehicle is in park either at a destination or at home. Then, they should move their phone to the backseat, into the glove box, or center console. This habit prevents them from even having the opportunity to look at their phone while driving or touching it because it is not within reach. The only criticism with this ingredient is that sometimes teens need their phones for directions. However, there are ways to prevent the temptation of using your phone for something other than directions. Various apps can disable the use of all other apps that may distract you from driving while still allowing the user to access directions. For even more safety, teens should purchase a GPS device that would allow them to put their phones away and still have directions. With new technological innovations like these, there is no excuse to look at your phone while driving.

6 tbsp of good headspace

Teens could prevent distracted driving by ensuring they are in a good headspace and not in a rush before setting off on the road. If they are distracted by something that may have happened earlier or may happen in the future, they are not focused on the road. So, by making sure they are attentive enough to drive, they will be focused on the road.

½ liters of speed kills

Before teens leave the house or their destination, teens should ensure they are not in a rush like I was. This could cause them to be distracted while driving and potentially speed. One-way teens can prevent themselves from speeding is to remind themselves that it’s better to get to their destination late than not at all. Furthermore, leaving earlier than they need to and anticipating traffic would prevent teens from getting in a rush and ignoring the speed limit.

Mixing these ingredients together and baking them into your own driving routine could prevent you from getting in an accident like I almost did. Each ingredient is significant in its own way, but the one thing they all have in common is time. Although distracted driving may not seem so severe at the moment, once you get in an accident, or see others in an accident, you realize how much you put yourself at risk by simply speeding or glancing at your phone. Overall, 3600 seconds cost me to almost miss my last softball game, but just 3 could have cost me the rest of my life.