Driving Force: Practical Solutions to the Dangers of Driving

Driving is dangerous; over and over, the statistics roll in, proving again and again the hazards of texting while driving, the risks of talking on the phone with the steering wheel in hand, and, of course, the life-threatening consequences of glancing at a social media feed instead of at the road beyond the windshield. Nonetheless, it seems that teenagers are blind and deaf; even in the light of all the programs set up to put a stop to these dangerous habits, the internet proves as deadly as ever. So the question remains, what can be done? There are three promising solutions that readily spring to mind: first, an increase in advertisements highlighting the dangers of texting while driving; second, educating parents on the dangers of distracted driving so that they can model safe driving habits; and, third, keeping teens accountable in their usage of social media while driving.

The main issue of eliminating social media usage during driving is the sheer amount of attractive power the smart phone holds. Whether one is waiting for an important phone call, wanting to skip to the next song, or suddenly feels the urge to see their friends’ most recent postings, every click, ding, or buzz emanating from a phone only serves to intensify the battle to keep one’s eyes on the road. It doesn’t help that teenagers are always busy either. School, jobs, social life- it all tugs at their attention making it nearly impractical to focus one’s attention completely on such a mundane task such as driving. Thus, social media, texting, and the like win out. For a teen, the benefit of being able to accomplish two things at once, and thus save precious time, outweighs the distant risk of injury or death.Therefore, if smartphones are so attractive, the solution lies in pointing a driver’s attention back to the road. The simple answer? More ads. If social media, such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, and the like are inundated with ads warning of the dangers of driving distracted, if teenagers can be won over through the advice of their favorite pastime– social media– then their attention can be redirected from their phone to the road, or their attention will be more likely to remain on the road in the first place.

Unfortunately, while ads are a great way to instigate a wider movement towards safer driving, they have the disadvantage of being distant. While ads are great for planting seeds, they require cultivation in order to truly blossom into a change in teen driving habits. This is where parents, guardians, and adults enter the equation. If adults model better driving habits, then the teens will start to catch on as well. Despite an angsty outward appearance, teens do look up to the adults in their life, and learn from their actions. As such, if the adults are not modeling good driving habits, the teens are less likely to do so as well. Thus, it is important to warn the parents of the dangers of poor driving habits and teach them how to influence their kids’ approach to driving for the better.

The final step in stopping these bad habits is accountability. Ads will fade from memory, parents can be ignored, but if teens are consistently and reliably held accountable for their phone usage while driving, they are more likely to build up good habits and break down the poor ones. Of course, there is always the potential for pushback against this solution, especially since it would require active cooperation on the part of the teen. One way to combat this would be to allow teens to stay accountable to their friends instead of their parents. Regardless of to whom a teen is remaining accountable, this step is vital for mitigating the effects of texting while driving; there is no better way to break bad habits than through accountability to another.

I have been blessed to never have been in a car accident, or experience the death or injury of any of my close friends or family related to a car accident. Nonetheless, this does not mean that I have never experienced the effects of distracted driving on my life. For instance, I know firsthand the temptation of distracted driving. There is always that little voice in my head, saying, “Everyone drives with earbuds in. It’s not going to make a difference if you do too.” or “The light is red- is it really going to hurt if you look down at your phone for a second?” I’m ashamed to admit that, all too often, that voice wins out. Although I have been fortunate enough to never experience negative consequences arising from such mistakes, it does not negate the fact that distracted driving is a real problem and a tangible issue. At the end of the day, all the ads in the world cannot do one thing to prevent distracted driving, because it is a choice to be distracted. Yes, it is a choice, just as it is a choice to put the phone away, to take out the earbuds, to take action, to step into one’s own life and take responsibility for one’s own actions. Perhaps it is not so much a matter of how many ads, or how many papers are written on the issue of distracted driving, but rather how often teens are shown that driving is a privilege, a power, a responsibility. I think it is only when teens learn to make their own decisions and realize that driving is not a game, that life has real consequences, only then will distracted driving become a real issue, and no longer an ad to be ignored, or a billboard to be dismissed. The solution to distracted driving lies with the teens themselves; the answer begins with a conscious choice.

How does one influence an entire generation of young drivers to take on this type of momentous responsibility? The answer lies in education. The purpose and intent of driver education courses is as much to teach teens techniques of safe driving as well as driving itself, and this step is becoming all the more important as the death toll of car accidents climbs ever higher. A little instruction towards the right path during a critical moment, a timely warning concerning the danger while allowing teens to take the wheel– that is what driver education is, and never has it been such a valuable tool as now. Equipped with the right informative material, and directed to instruct instead of scare, driver education can be used to guide teens toward safer driving practices while allowing them to step into new responsibility. Thus, this tool as well as all those mentioned above can help mitigate the number of car accident injuries and deaths by supporting safe and responsible driving habits in young drivers.