It’s all fun and games until it’s not.

It’s all fun and games until it’s not. KBH once said, ¨It’s all fun and games, until it just isn’t fun anymore… and life isn’t a game.¨ My brother has many cases of thinking life is just a game until he realizes that it isn’t. All those times when he just wanted to look cool in front of his friends, including the time he hit 70 mph on a 15 mph turn, not to mention on a dirt road while also sending a snap on his cell phone. Next thing he knew, he was upside down and all his friends in the truck were unconscious. This has to stop. There are, on average, 34,000 deaths in America each year as a result of driving. This is why driver education is important, the number one cause of death for the ages of 15-20 are because of driving recklessly. In Alabama, if you are caught driving while on your cell phone, the first incident is a $25 fine and it grows from there. In order to stop this, first, the law needs to be changed to a minimum $300 fine for adults 21 and older and a $500 fine for ages 15-21, second, there needs to be an automatic app installed onto every person’s phone that makes it so where if the phone is in motion of 25 mph+ then the phone will not turn on.

The biggest way to stop distracted driving would be to set the minimum ticket of being on the cell phone while driving to $500 for ages 15-21 and $300 for 21 and older. A $25 fine is nothing compared to $500. Even if the fine was $50, it wouldn’t stop anyone from getting on their cell phones. Every year inflation causes prices to rise 2.52%, since 2000-2022. With this rate of inflation, it’s not just fines that raise, everything raises including people’s salaries which means that they are technically paying the same amount due to ratios. A big increase in fines ($25-$500) would help people not be on their phones because most people already struggle having to pay for gas so this would help them not want to get caught being on their phones. All this shows how a simple, but noticeable, raise in the cost of fines of being caught with a phone in hand would help prevent people from being distracted.

Another way to stop distracted driving would be to have an app that is automatically added onto everyones phone that makes it so that if someone is moving at a speed of 25 mph or more, they cannot open their phone. This also includes not having directions, although with the upgrade in today’s technology, people have built in navigation systems in their vehicles. If there is an app that prohibits phone use while driving then it will limit the amount of eyes veering off the road. For some people, Snapchat is too important and they don’t want to lose their 253 day streak with their friends. Or if their BeReal goes off and they just HAVE to take a pic. Once they go to take that pic, their eyes are totally off the road and on their phone. What if Molly Welch from ¨A Second Later¨ was paralyzed throughout her whole right side of her body after she went to change the music and a pickup truck pulled out in front of her. She was told that she would not live through the first day, but the doctors were wrong. Imagine if she had an app that wouldn’t let her open her phone since she was driving, she would have seen the truck and would have had enough time to react and avoid the crash. Molly Welch is a great example of why we should have an app automatically installed on everyones phone so that accidents like this would be avoided.

In order to stop distracted driving, there are two powerful ways: one, to raise the ticket cost of being caught with a phone in hand; and two, to install an app that isn’t optional that does not allow for those that are going a certain speed to not be able to use their phone. These ways to stop distracted driving would be very impactful. These ways are possible, not just fake ways. Tickets have been raised in the past for unstoppable laws, mainly speeding and not stopping at stop signs. Apple has many apps that if you try to delete it, it isn’t possible. I wish these ways were introduced before my brother went and did his unjust actions. Maybe I would actually be able to throw the baseball in the front yard with him like I’ve always wanted to do. My brother, his friends, Molly Welch, and many others impacted by distracted driving could all tell you that it’s all fun and games until it’s not.