Safe Driving Initiative Essay

It was a muggy summer evening in the South, and I had just received my license a few weeks prior. I was enjoying my newfound freedom but still a bit apprehensive on the road. That night I was driving home after work eagerly awaiting a home cooked meal after a long day. My favorite song, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen was blasting on the radio and my windows were rolled down as the air conditioning in my 16 year old car had gone caput. All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I noticed a large white truck flying through the intersection in front of me. I slammed on my brakes just in time to miss getting crushed by the truck. The man in the truck had run right through the intersection, missing the yield sign and was looking down at his phone. I learned that evening that my life could be changed at the blink of an eye and the decisions we make while driving not only put ourselves in danger, but also put others’ lives at risk.

According to AAA, young drivers who do not participate in a driver’s ed course are 24% more likely to be injured or involved in a fatal accident. Taking a driver’s ed course is important to teach teen drivers the rules of the road, defensive driving techniques, and build their confidence. The driving instructor can help identify and fix bad driving habits like driving with distractions. I think of a driver’s education class as on the job training. Just reading the rules in a book is a good start, but nothing can take the place of experiencing real life situations while on the road with an instructor. The defensive driving skills I learned through my time in driver’s education class definitely helped me that day.

Distracted driving, we are all guilty of it. Whether it be adjusting the radio, reading, sending a text, eating that juicy burger or calling your best friend to let them know you are running late, distracted driving can be deadly. While it comes in many different forms, texting while driving seems to have become the main culprit. I was stunned to read recently that the National Traffic and Safety Administration reported that 325,000 people were injured and 3.100 lives were lost in 2020 due to distracted driving.

Despite most of us agreeing that distracted driving is dangerous and illegal, we do it anyway. So, the question is, what can be done to prevent it? Some practical habits we can all easily implement and commit to include:

1. Putting your phone on silent

2. Turning your phone off while driving

3. Putting your cell phone out of reach in a place like the glove compartment

4. Install an app on your phone that blocks calls and texts while you’re in a moving vehicle

5. If you have a passenger with you, ask them to handle any calls or texts you receive

6. Turn on your phone’s Driving Mode feature

7. If you must respond to a text, pull over first

Another way to promote safety on the road would be to strengthen current distracted driving laws. Currently in North Carolina drivers over 18 can send and read texts while lawfully stopped or parked, including if you are stopped at a stoplight. Adults over 18 are allowed to text using voice technology and can look up or type in phone numbers and addresses. These activities all take your eyes off the road and can be just as dangerous as texting while driving.

In North Carolina, a citation for texting while driving does not add points to your license and will not automatically increase your insurance. If there were harsher monetary consequences for getting caught texting and driving, people may think twice before looking down at their phones.

Schools can play a key role in educating teens on safe driving practices and promoting safe driving habits. Many high schools employ full or part time resource officers who could play an integral role in talking to students. Teachers can encourage students to sign a pledge to stop driving distracted and to post that pledge somewhere visible in their car. Students can also be encouraged to speak up when they see their peers texting and driving. My school placed a wrecked, crinkled up vehicle at the exit to our school so we had a visual image of what could happen due to distracted driving. That car is no longer there but I am still reminded of it each time I leave the school parking lot.

Parents are pivotal in preventing distracted driving in their teens. Contrary to what you might think, middle aged drivers have been shown to be the worst offenders of driving while on the phone. Teens naturally look to their parents as role models and often follow their lead. Parents could do a better job of setting a good example for them in their own driving habits each time they get behind the wheel.

There is no question that distracted driving increases the risk of an accident. Distracted driving causes thousands of injuries and deaths each year. The statistics keep rising year after year, so it is evident that current laws have room to be more effective and need to be strengthened. We can each do our part to solve this problem if we commit to putting our cell phones away while driving and hold ourselves accountable to others in our car and on the roads. Texting takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. That’s like driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed at 55 miles per hour (NHTSA.) Consider that the next time you’re driving down the road and your phone lights up. No text, snap, phone call or notification is worth losing your life or bringing harm to yourself or others.