Your Screen Can Wait

During the Covid-19 pandemic, after several months of practicing and learning how to drive, I received my driver’s license in October of 2021. Just three short weeks after I received my license in the mail, I totaled my first car. Me being a beginner, I overestimated the amount of time I had to turn left at an intersection, and I was hit by an oncoming car on the passenger side. My car rolled over, the airbags deployed, and my car was officially totaled. While my car accident resulted from my own lack of experience rather than inattentiveness behind the wheel, many drivers of all ages fail to eliminate distractions while driving, and they are forced to bear the consequences of that.

In my driver’s education training, there are 3 key things that were ingrained in my mind: wear your seatbelt, don’t drink and drive, and don’t text and drive. Despite the immense amount of warnings and scary statistics that are repeatedly described in driver’s education classes, drivers young and old, seasoned and inexperienced, still allow distractions to inhibit their driving and put their own safety and others’ safety at risk while on the road. I have witnessed it firsthand many times and even fallen victim to it myself, allowing your cell phone to draw your attention away from the road. I have frequently watched my stepdad pick up his phone and make several calls while driving, with only one of his hands on the steering wheel, haphazardly steering his several thousand-pound pickup truck. I have watched my mom try to type in directions to a place or make a call as she waits at a red light. I will get Snapchats from friends and they will be driving, looking at their screens instead of the traffic in front of and around them. Very often I will see other drivers on the road looking down at their hands (and their phones) rather than out at the road. I will see my friends’ BeReals loading into the app and they will be on the road, broadcasting to everyone that they are driving while distracted, shamelessly disregarding their safety and others. I myself have tried to skip the occasional song while driving to or from school if I don’t like it, allowing my eyes to be taken away from the road for mere seconds. It is all too easy to let what you are doing on a screen mean more to you than your safety on the road, but in a split second, your life could be over or changed forever, all because of a split-second choice. A simple, easily preventable mistake. We take driver’s education classes for that very reason, to learn what to do and what not to do when on the road.

While driver’s education is helpful in preventing and reducing distracted driving habits, more things can always be done to reduce the risks and increase safety. There are some technological advancements that work to make it harder for people to use their devices while driving, such as Do Not Disturb While Driving, however, these can easily be turned off by the user with one press of a button and are therefore not as effective in preventing distracted driving. I feel that more features similar to Do Not Disturb While Driving should be implemented into all cell phones that are not as easy to turn off so that drivers are forced to pay attention to what they are doing. If more systems like this were implemented, then driving would be safer for everyone, and there would be fewer collisions as a result of distracted driving. I take safety very seriously, I never want to experience getting into a car accident again, if I can help it. Technology plays an increasingly significant role in our daily lives, but it doesn’t have to control us and be the reason for reckless decisions. Some ways that I have and will continue to reduce my distracted and irresponsible driving habits are to reduce and eliminate things that may distract me, whether that be my cell phone, the music I have playing, or even the people that I have in the car with me. I will keep my phone in my pocket or bag rather than having it out, and accessible, and I will keep music below a certain volume while driving so that I can give my full attention to the task at hand. Additionally, I will make sure that I always leave slightly earlier than I need to so that I can account for traffic, that way I am never in a hurry or rushed. By implementing these habits and encouraging those I care about to do so, I can be safe on the road and I can help others be safe. Nothing is worth more than your life, and your driving habits should reflect that.