That Device My Generation Worships

As a driver who has been driving with the support of my parents since I was 15, I have seen a lot of dangers in my short driving career. My dad, who is a police officer, preached to me about how in a split second, there could be something that could change your life or someone else’s if you are not paying full attention to the road. For my generation, it is the invention, evolution and redefining phone that needs to placed into an area of the car where drivers can not access it.

I admit that I like my Instagram, TicTok, Snapchat and other apps but it is the addition of those things and being up to date in an instant that has teenage drivers seriously hurt or killed. I like the “aux cord” (Auxiliary) to play my music and talk on the phone by Bluetooth which is safer than the phone to my ear or the Airpod in my ear but it is distracting while you drive.

We as this generation worship our phone. We show it off when it is new and appreciate the features like the camera for our apps, the memory for all of the photos and how fast it connects to any and all internet hotspots. It’s the same convenience we enjoy that puts all teenagers in harms way and young adults in bad situations behind the wheel. My dad said it best: “A vehicle demands your undivided attention when operating it” . That phone we worship is killing kids daily because we can not put it down while we operate a vehicle that demands our full attention.

My dad was a great example for me for driving. When I was learning to drive and put in the 250 of drive time to complete my mandatory high school curriculum. He was strict with me on the cell phone usage even if I was sitting still or not driving at the time. He harped on that point time and time again on why it was not needed to have the phone in hand.

His point was well taken when I finally had my first memorable close call. I was riding down Route 7 which is a three-lane highway eastbound in the middle lane. I was minding my business when a car approached from my driver’s side at 60 miles per hour. The car drifted in my lane causing me to do an evasive maneuver. I ended up applying my brakes and moving lanes because I knew I had room and distance because I was fully aware. As I gathered myself, I could see the car aggressively recover and correct itself back in the fast lane where it initially was. The teenage driver was on her cell phone not looking at the road and the car drifted from its lane into my lane. This is where I knew that I could not be on my phone and driving at the same time.

I have witnessed collisions at traffic lights where people are looking down at the phone and the light turns yellow. The driver ahead brakes to stop and the offending car behind them is looking at the phone and does not even brake. There is nothing that important that you need to look at your phone and disregard controlling the vehicle. We think that because there is so much technology in cars that it will save us. It can only do so much. We have to be the ones that control the vehicle.

If we change the cell phone usage for vehicle operations, we make better and safer drivers. Do not use the cell phone while driving. The device that makes it so easy to get somewhere and communicate is the same device that is distracting my generation into bad ideas for driving. There was a generation struggle once before when my parents were mandated to use seat belts. I can not imagine that this was even an option but my dad told me that it was pushback on this because people felt like it was violating their rights. Now, every vehicle will remind you about how someone does not have it on and that person is wrong about it. We have to get to a point where we have to educate our generation on the dangers of distracted driving so it is not killing other teenagers. They campaigned on this for seat belts, they can campaign for this for the usage of cell phones. Many states have implemented cell phone laws but more need to follow suit and get on the same page for saving lives. I will say this to all teenagers just starting to drive; “Quit worshiping the cell phone and take driving more serious.”