The Perils of Distracted Driving and the Road to Safety

 

While on the road it is of vital importance to not only be aware of the way you drive but also of the way others drive to anticipate possible accidents. One of the most common mistakes I see while on the road is people getting distracted because they are trying to set up an address on their GPS or smartphone; this can be catastrophic, not only are they taking their eyes off the road, they are also taking at least one of their hands off the wheel and engaging several areas of the brain involved in reading and writing. Which, in turn, leaves the driver with less cognitive focus and less reaction time to respond in any given situation. Another issue I often observe and have experienced myself while driving is being distracted by something that is happening in the back seat; people tend to look back when someone is being loud, or there is too much movement; it happens a lot when there are children in the vehicle or when siblings are fighting, which is what happened to me.

I was behind the wheel after a long shift at work with my older brother and we were getting out of the parking lot at around midnight when my brother, who was sitting in the back, and I started arguing about the choice of music; like any pair of teenage siblings we did not want to listen to the same genre and very maturely proceeded to change the radio station back and forth, all of this while I started to drive, and of course that did not end well, at least for our car; my brother decided to pull my window down from the passenger side behind the driver, and I took my eyes of the road to pull the window up, in that tiny fraction of time that it took me to look over at my door and press the button for the window to go up I crashed into a light post and completely ruined the car. Thankfully the parking lot was empty, and nobody was hurt except for the car. My parents were not impressed, and my brother and I were grounded and only allowed to drive a car once we paid for the damages and bought our vehicles.

There are many stories like mine that did not end up with just a broken car and angry parents; people can die every day due to distracted drivers. In 2023, Forbes released an article that estimates that at least nine people die daily due to distracted driving, so if we do the math right, it means that 3,285 people die each year by distracted drivers alone. That is not a number we want to see ever, especially because all those deaths could be prevented if we take simple steps and drive with conscience and security. At the end of the day, driving is to get from point A to point B safely, not to see who can get there the fastest. The way to do that is to plan before we start driving; instead of starting your car and going while typing the address on the GPS, we could just type it beforehand; if the address needs to be changed throughout the drive, then park somewhere and change the address if parking is not an option most smartphones and GPS systems have a voice comm integrated that people can use to dictate the address.

As for distraction in the back seat, I know it can be hard to drive when children are crying, or siblings are fighting in the back seat, but focus on the road and, if necessary, park the car somewhere safe and then address the problem, do not look back and try to intervene while driving because it takes less than a second for a tragedy to happen when you take your eyes and hands off the road. And last but not least, if plans are being made while driving or going somewhere, then the driver should not take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel; I cannot emphasize this enough, but the best thing any driver can do before starting to drive is having a plan and being focused on the road, there is a reason most driving manuals, guides, schools, and test repeat over and over the dangers of being distracted driving. Being aware and focused on the road can help save lives, including yours and your loved one.