Preventing Distracted Driving

Vehicular crashes are one of the leading causes of death for teenagers in the U.S. Most of these accidents are a result of distractions. The primary distraction is one of the first things we use when we get up in the morning. We’re scrolling on it to pass time or make a situation less awkward. It consumes a lot of our free time. Have you guessed what it is? It’s our phones. Our phones provide social media and texting which are considerable distractions. Roughly 70% of Americans use social media at least once a day. Teenagers are the most frequent social media users. Teenagers are also one of the most high-risk groups of drivers. Teenage drivers are more prone to having dangerous driving habits. Driver education is crucial to saving lives and preventing injury. Implementing driver education for young drivers can prevent accidents down the road. Solutions I suggest to address this problem involve changing settings on one’s phone or creating incentives to not use your phone while driving.

Most mobile systems offer drivers different options to avoid distracted driving. One of these features is the “Do Not Disturb” feature. With this setting, one can selectively choose which apps they don’t want to receive notifications from when it is enabled. It wasn’t made specifically for driving, but it can be used for that. One step further Apple and Android devices provided the “Do Not Disturb While Driving” feature. This feature is just like the first one I mentioned except it is catered more to preventing distracted driving. When it is enabled, the phone can detect the motion of the user driving. When detected, the phone automatically limits notifications. Some software apps will even notify people trying to contact the driver that they are driving. These features are not guaranteed to prevent cell phone use while driving, but it is a start. Not seeing the notifications can decrease the number of times one picks up their phone while driving.

Others may need a more demanding solution to staying off their phone. Physically placing one’s phone out of sight can make it less likely for distracted driving to occur. Placing their phone in a glove box or in the backseat would require more effort to retrieve the phone and use it again. In addition to placing the phone out of sight, they can turn their phone off. Users needing the most assertive solution may need to look towards the insurance company solution. Some insurance companies offer a service where they monitor your phone usage while driving. The way they track your phone usage varies by company but they ultimately have the same goals. The company will have some signal in your car or an app on your phone that detects things like hard braking and speed. In particular to distracted driving, the companies also track how often one goes on their phone while driving. Drivers are rewarded for good behaviors. On the contrary, their bad habits can result in higher insurance rates. This solution is a combination of positive reinforcement and positive punishment.

Teenage drivers are not the only high-risk group. Older adults can also be prone to become high-risk drivers. As one gets older you may not be as attentive as you once were. My solution to this would be to lower the age for a required road test during license renewal. Life is unpredictable and enforcing this can create a safer driving experience for everyone.

Although these solutions can be helpful, the main ingredient to safe driving is being responsible. If a person does not take responsibility they won’t take initiative to ensure that they are driving safely. A lot of people won’t take action until they are given a reason. Unfortunately, it often takes a personal tragedy for people to change their ways. Taking responsibility when a driver gets behind the wheel can reduce distracted driving.

From my own experience, I take driving safely seriously. Despite this, I still have witnessed distracted habits from my friends and family. Constructing this essay made me realize that I play a role in safe driving, even as a passenger. When I witness someone engaged in distracted driving I will speak up. I will stress the importance of how being distracted even for short periods of time could result in an accident. I’ll also make sure to mention that one should avoid distractions they have control of for the sake of others’ safety.

In Conclusion, with the widespread use of social media distracted driving has become a real problem. Putting one’s device out of sight can make it easy to forget about their phone. Insurance plan monitoring gives one incentive to not use their phone while driving. Features that mute phone notifications can make phones less of a distraction. Lowering the age for road tests during license renewal can lessen the number of inattentive drivers. This range of solutions can reduce distracted driving to minimize teenage injuries and deaths. Being conscious of one’s driving habits can make a huge difference in safe driving.