Is It Really That Important

Today’s teens are consumed by the digital world. Apps such as TikTok, Instagram, BeReal, Twitter and others, are enticing young adults to be on their phones on a constant basis. Phone and app usage occurs regularly while driving. It is an often occurrence while driving to look over at a red light and find the driver next to you on their phone. When stuck in traffic, it is tempting to pick up the phone and scroll through favorite social media platforms. However, these activities are dangerous, not only to the individual but also to the other drivers and passengers on the road. How important is it to check your social media? Not important enough to risk your life, as well as the lives around you.

With drivers getting their licenses as early as sixteen, it is important to emphasize the dangers of using their phones while operating the vehicle while they attend driving school. If you take the time during the drivers ed course to explain the true dangers of phone usage in the car, the number of car crashes would lessen. Young people treat this danger with flippancy. Crashes are often caused by people of all ages who choose to pick up their phone while driving. By teaching them the dangers before drivers begin the habit of phone usage while operating a vehicle, would help create awareness of the dangers surrounding distracted driving. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute reported that in 2020 3,142 people were killed and an additional 324,652 were injured in car accidents involving distracted drivers.

The ones who were reported as distracted drivers were between the ages of 15-20. “Texting and driving and other cell phone use while driving facts and statistics show that this multitasking behind the wheel is becoming a life-threatening norm. Talking while driving or texting and driving or checking or sending social media posts while driving takes eyes and brains off the task of driving. Coupled with inexperience and lack of driving skills, cell phone use can be especially deadly for teen drivers.”. When people add driving and phone usage together, the end result is a driver who is not focused on maintaining and operating the vehicle with the amount of attention it truly requires. The study shows that cell phone use behind the wheel reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. Phone usage while driving is not limited to texting, social media also has the power to draw the driver’s attention away from the road. By teaching our teens to finish a phone call or a text message before operating a car, could prevent them from being involved in a fatal or non-fatal car crash. This is not just problematic for other drivers but also for pedestrians.

In 2011 a study was conducted in Texas regarding the reaction time when texting and driving. The study concluded that when the driver is texting, the reaction time is doubled, causing crucial moments to slip away often resulting in a near or actual accident. “Reaction times with no texting activity were typically between one and two seconds. Reaction times while texting, however, were at least three to four seconds. Worse yet, drivers were more than 11 times more likely to miss the flashing light altogether when they were texting. The researchers say that the findings extend to other driving distractions that involve reading or writing, such as checking e-mail or Facebook.”

We can easily substitute email and Facebook in the research mentioned above for texting and Instagram. We clearly see the dangers of phone use while driving, yet it is often something that is mentioned a few times and forgotten.

Driving demands our full attention. When operating a vehicle, we need to realize that we are holding not only our lives in our hands, but also the lives of the other drivers around us. Taking the time to stop and think about the reality of the dangers of distracted driving and emphatically teaching our younger generation could begin the rise in smarter and safer drivers on the road. There are many safety guards that can be put in place to ensure the safety of our loved ones. Take ahold of these safety features and teach others to be smart and safe drivers. All it takes is one driver who has no regard for their own safety or the safety of others and chooses their phone to result in life changing consequences for all involved.

References:

Children’s hospital In Philadelphia research institute . (n.d.). Cell Phone use and texting while driving facts and statistics.