Safe Driving Starts With You

Safe
Driving Starts With You

Sharon
Heit, a mother of a texting while driving victim said “In a split
second you can ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a
hole in the heart of everyone who loves you.” This quote truly
reflects my view on how texting while driving awareness should be
raised for the safety of everyone. We live in a world today that is
so technologically centered it isn’t only cell phones that distract
drivers. It’s smart watches, your screaming toddlers tablet, your
work phone that never seems to shut up. It takes patience and proper
driving education to make a person understand the true importance of
staying off your phone while driving. It is important to me that
people understand why staying off your phone could save a life. My
opinion of texting and driving is that it is extremely hazardous to
everyone on the road and should be avoided at all costs.

The
first step people must take to avoid using their phones while driving
is having a little patience. It is common, especially in teens and
younger people that we have developed impatience because we are so
used to receiving things quickly due to technological advancements. .
In fact, 9 out of 10 teens expect a text back in less than 5 minutes.
This encourages teens to text back while operating a motor vehicle.
Teens and new drivers have the highest report of fatal crashes and
58% of those crashes are due, in no small part to distracted driving.
If these teens had more patience and just waited until the vehicle
was parked they could’ve saved a life.

Second,
it is majorly important that people are aware of traffic laws and are
properly educated before getting behind the wheel. In Massachusetts,
the jump in tickets given out per year for distracted driving was
enormous from 2010 to 2016. In 2010, only 274 tickets were given out
for texting while driving. It is important to know that it became
illegal in that state as of September 2010. In April of 2016, it was
reported there had already been 972 tickets given out for distracted
driving just in that year. It is crazy to look at these statistics
and realise these numbers are also only people who have been caught
let alone everyone else who texts and drives. You never know who is
on their phones and not paying attention to the road. That is why it
is important to stay off your phone and be alert for hazardous
drivers.

In
Conclusion, I think it is of the utmost importance to educate drivers
of the consequences of texting and driving. It is not only dangerous
to you and the passengers in your car but others and their passengers
as well. To put it in short, “A Mere five letters can change
someone’s life forever.” Don’t let it be yours.