Think Before You Act: The Dangers of Distracted Driving

Think
Before You Act: The Dangers of Distracted Driving

We’ve
all been there… you’re in the car with a friend or a parent,
someone you love, on the way to run an errand, go to practice, or
grab a bite to eat. Suddenly you hear it: the infamous ding of a
notification, alerting you that someone is trying to get ahold of the
driver and signaling them to check their phone as one impulsively
does after the ding has become so familiar to us. You could let them
reach for their phone, pick it up, see who texted them, and then
they’d set it down and keep driving. But that could also go
horribly wrong. They pick up the phone and see who texted them, but
what they don’t see is the truck coming towards them head on
because they swerved into a different lane because they chose to not
pay attention to the road. They don’t see the child on a bike
crossing the road they hit texting their friend back. And chances
are, you might not see it either if you choose to be on your phone in
the passenger seat. Crash! Just like that, life changes forever.

The
driver dies upon impact. Someone you love gone forever because of a
ding. You die in the crash. The driver lives with the guilt of losing
you for the rest of their life. You both watch the child on the bike
die. A tiny soul gone because of the ding. The guilt of taking their
life stays with you forever. The driver even faces charges from the
parents of that child. One of you walks away fine, but the other has
sustained an injury that will change daily routines for them forever.

Was
the ding worth it? The satisfaction of looking at a screen for a
second of pleasure and the possibility of a lifetime of pain. Texting
and driving is negative in every scenario, and more people need to be
aware of the severity it carries when it comes to safety in a
vehicle. You would never get in a car that was missing every
seatbelt, airbag, and had faulty brakes, right? So why would you get
into a car where the actual driver was the safety hazard?

All
drivers remember drivers ed and behind the wheels that led to the
big test to finally get your license. It took a lot of studying and
practice to get that license and most of it was learning the rules of
the road from a book, video, or instructor. So why don’t current
drivers need to be refreshed on basic laws or updates on the rules of
the road more often? I think this is one way a change could be made
to educate more people, especially drivers and front seat passengers,
on what it really looks like to be a safe driver. Since phones are
popular today, a small true or false quiz could be given to drivers
via email or other online forum by insurance companies to ensure
drivers receive a small bit of education yearly on road safety. The
quiz may contain information on laws and updated policies, as well as
other misconceptions about safe driving. I feel phone use in the car
should be focused on in the quiz as well because it is so common, yet
so dangerous. Seeing a billboard on the side of the road that tells
them to stop won’t actually stop a driver who is texting, but
seeing a statistic about how many deaths are caused from texting and
driving yearly on an insurance quiz might open their eyes and change
bad driving habits.

In the meantime, drivers and
passengers should be alert at all times on the road. Set your phone
to do not disturb mode in the car and remind your friends to do so
too. Ask a driver to put their phone down if you see them using it
while driving. If a text is really important, ask the passenger to
respond for you so you can keep your eyes on the road, and your loved
ones safe.