Safe Driving

The crunch of glass rings in my ears as my feet touch the road. A surrounding crowd’s pointed cameras raises the tension. Unfortunately, insensitive filming of a gruesome scene is a common occurrence. Approaching the patient, I notice his leg is bent sideways. Upon removing this motorcyclist’s helmet, we are met with a distorted face covered in blood. I grab the helmet and my gloves are instantly painted, red and sticky.

This patient suffered a broken femur, dislocated mandible, concussion, and innumerable scrapes. He was hit by a distracted driver, and his life was changed forever.

Heaving sobs by the perpetrator almost coerces remorse for her out of me. It quickly dissipates, as the sight of the patient choking on blood strikes my gut.

Such a simple thing, keep your eyes on the road. But yet, dangerous driving habits reveal their ugly effects far too often.

There are many possible ways to reduce dangerous driving habits, especially amongst teenagers, despite their typical apathy. First, parents and other drivers can lead by example. Child development is heavily impacted by observational learning. Whatever a child sees being done by a role model, they will mimic it. Thus, encouraging safe driving by any driver will positively impact future drivers.

Furthermore, parents and guardians could take on a more definitive role in the boundaries in which their children are allowed to drive. Social media is a powerful force in today’s teen population. As a teenager, I can agree that the urge to update an app is intense. In many teens, Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) can trigger anxiety and compulsive behaviors, including constantly refreshing social media, even while operating a vehicle. However, any driver must be able to suppress these desires, as failure to do so can result in dire consequences. Given the extraordinary technology that is commonplace today, social media users are easily capable of viewing the activity of another user. Parents and guardians can utilize this feature to establish rules and execute punishments if a teenager is caught using social media while driving. For example, if a teenager gets caught being active on social media while operating a car, they may have their driving privileges revoked.

Another method that could be used to reduce dangerous driving habits is having teenagers install an app that tracks speed on their phone prior to them driving. Life360 is a useful app for this as it offers features such as Top Speed and Crash Detection for all users in a Life360 “circle” to see. Parents and guardians can use this to monitor if their children are driving at a safe speed and obeying speed limits.

Moreover, according to PhoneArea.com, 87% of teenagers own an Apple iPhone. Apple offers a slew of resources to increase safety not only in driving, but also in everyday life. This includes the Emergency SOS feature, accessed by pressing the side button and one of the volume buttons on an iPhone. As for driving features, Apple offers an automatic driving “Focus”. This “Focus” is enabled when the iPhone detects driving motion. This feature also has an “Auto-Reply” setting where any incoming text messages will be replied with a message that the recipient is currently driving. Thus, parents and guardians can enforce rules that their child must enable this Apple feature before they begin driving. In the event the teenager is noncompliant, the enforcer can impose a suitable penalty. Having this driving “Focus” enabled can also tackle the issue of texting and driving for anyone. The driver would not be alerted that a text message was received, and the person sending the text message will be made aware that the driver will view the text message once they arrive at their destination.

I intend to spread these ideas by sharing the stories of tragedies I have seen, even at a young age. As president of multiple clubs, I have viable platforms to share the importance of safe driving and hazards of texting while driving.

As an Emergency Medical Technician, motor vehicle accidents are a common occurrence, with the most fatal incidents occurring at intersections, according to NSC Injury Facts. Although I am a teenager, every time I get in my car I remember the sight of that patient’s leg sideways. His voice repeating from a mouth of blood “I need to spit, guys” rings in my ears as I press my foot on the clutch and turn the key. Driving accidents are often caused by distractions by phones. This is very avoidable, with even the slightest bit more consideration. Reducing dangerous driving habits is a very attainable goal, given enough awareness is raised.