Technology: Our Biggest Distraction

“Dad, it’s green.”

I’ve been saying those words for years now. To my mom too. Why? Their phones.

Technology has given us many amazing advances like cars, phones, and countless others that have made our lives more efficient and more comfortable than ever before. However, with these technology advancements comes new problems and issues that didn’t exist before. Transportation and safety are one of these areas.

Most people use a personal car to commute to work or school. In big cities like Los Angeles and San Diego, this leads to huge numbers of people on the streets and highway both walking around and driving to their destinations. Without driver education, we would have complete chaos on the road. Driver Education is the key first step in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving. Whenever someone gets behind the wheel, we hope that they have had the proper training and education to safely operate the car for those in and outside the vehicle. Driver Education properly teaches drivers of any age the rules of the road in addition to safe driving practices to prevent possible accidents. This step is important as most people don’t really go back to review these rules, so it is important that drivers are educated to prevent accidents from occurring.

I’ve technically only been in one small accident. After playing basketball in the park for several hours I got in my car to drive back home. I was driving down Wilshire when I reached for my phone to skip to the next song; the one second I looked down was all it took. I looked up and slammed the brakes hard but unfortunately bumped the guy in front of me. Thankfully neither of us suffered injuries, his back bumper had extremely minor damage, and mine had none at all. While everything was okay this time, that one mistake showed me why it is so important to always be focused while driving. Both me and the other driver could have been injured when worse and even could have caused harm to other cars or people as well.

I think the biggest thing that we all can do is start to put our phones down more. They distract us all the time even when we aren’t driving. Many of us wish we didn’t lose so much time to random apps on our phones or TV; these distractions are even more harmful when it happens on the road. I’ve seen it in myself, my parents, and other drivers everywhere – people looking down checking their phones while going 60 to 80 mph down the highway paying no attention to other drivers around them. It’s almost like asking for something bad to happen. The best thing to do is to not check it at all while driving however this is much easier said than done. Features like Do Not Disturb are great for driving as they silence all notifications, giving you less reason to check your phone while on the road. You could even put your phone in a backpack to prevent you from reaching for it while driving. If you really do need your phone for mapping or to get in contact with someone, then use hands free tools to keep your eyes on the road. Another issue, especially here in California, has to do with how fast people are driving. Whether it be the highway or surface streets, it feels like everyone in California is constantly speeding and trying to race. Combine this with distracted driving and you have a recipe for disaster. I’ve started to monitor my speed much more as I realize that I have a tendency to drive fast due to where I grew up. Another easy one that I think is so easy to solve is seatbelts. I do it immediately when I step into a vehicle no matter whose driving and no matter how short the drive is. There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be wearing a seatbelt if you are driving somewhere and it’s so easy to stay safe in the event of an accident.

Let’s also be honest, driving under the influence is also a major source of accidents and deaths that occur. Especially for younger drivers, if you know you are going to an event where you are going to take substances that impair your ability to drive, then you should not be driving home after. There are countless apps like Uber and Lyft and even a classic cab that you can call to take you both to and from the event. While this may cost slightly more in the short run, by using these services we can reduce the number of impaired drivers on the road, taking away the risk of being pulled over later or causing harm due to distracted driving.

Receiving this scholarship especially after the high gas prices and food costs would be a huge help for me to continue my Computer Engineering degree at University of California, San Diego. I hope these tips can help other drivers make safe choices while on the road.