distracted drivers

Many people worldwide have fallen victim to distracted driving, including myself. Distractive driving is a hard habit to break. What most people don’t realize is that many things fall under the category of distracted driving. The list could go on forever but I’ll name a few that most don’t think about. Turning around in any way to speak to the people in the backseat, trying to eat and drive, and finally overly loud music. There are also the most common ones that everyone knows, including texting/ phone use while behind the wheel and adjusting the song or radio. All of these things are often thought of as ‘must-dos’ but in reality could be done elsewhere or at a different time. Hopefully, as technology improves, there will be more options for young drivers to put their phones down or lock them and have the teen death rate due to car accidents decrease.

In my family, most of them are very distracted when driving. My grandmother would be the person being honked at when the light turns green because she is on her phone. My mom is someone who texts while driving but with both of her hands on top of the steering wheel so it can at least look like she is doing more to pay attention to driving and not just Facebook. My dad is the type of person to have his phone on his lap while driving and at the occasional red light will respond to a text or two. While in most cases my family members have been fine I have been in the car when a car accident was barely avoided since my parental figure wouldn’t just put their ohne away. I mean geez and they are always telling me to get off my phone. Talk about practicing what you preach. Texting and driving is a reason for way too many accidents and it could be avoided simply by putting your phone away and not being on it when operating a motor vehicle. While texting is bad there’s also one that most people don’t think about, eating and driving. The thought that a human could simply multitask is crazy but while trying to operate a car. When someone is eating and driving they are usually doing it with one hand or could take their eyes off the road to see which french fry they want. With these things being taken away from driving the driver cannot be aware of their complete surroundings and will then have compromised mobility. I have been a victim of an accident while eating and driving. The other person was pulling out of the McDonald’s parking lot when my mom was driving and they looked down to take a fat bite of their hamburger and for some reason took their foot off of the break and then BAM slammed into me and my VERY pregnant mom. Would that McDonald’s hamburger have been word 2 almost 3 lives? I don’t think so.

in this day and age, many things help us heighten our safety. One of the ways is by having smart cars that make it easy for us to respond to text messages by basically having a conversation with your car without having to take your hands off of the wheel or your eyes off the road. These things allow for us to be in a much safer environment but can there be more? The answer has to be yes, because with drivers having their phones being an extension of themselves, they find it hard to put their phones down, even momentarily to have the safest possible option. I feel like the only way to have us driving completely safely on the roads is to have a box of some sort in our car that keeps our phones away from us. Now that may be thinking way too far in the future but now the world can start by putting their phone in the backseat in a bag or a purse to truly keep the phone out of sight and therefore out of mind. While phones are a big one there’s also food. A lot of people have busy schedules so compacted that they resort to eating in the car while driving. Most think “one fry can’t hurt” but it might. An individual looking away from the road for up to 2 entire seconds can cause a car accident that could end in death. With updated technology, drivers, especially young ones could become the most aware and safe drivers the world has seen in a while. One text, a quick snack, just a dire need to change the song. All these things could cost a life. Are any of these examples even comparable to a human life? The answer is no. Most would say “It is easier said than done” but I simply believe that is not true. If more drivers had self-control and could simply be patient then our roads would be easier to put young drivers on when they start driving. They would be able to learn with other safe and overly aware drivers allowing the safest conditions allowing for little to no collisions. Happy endings are hard to come by but being more aware of the surroundings can save not one but many lives.

Distractive driving is a habit that many attempt to break daily but the amount of people who give into their immediate wants are the ones who are creating unfortunate events for those around them. Putting away a cell phone, waiting 5 more minutes to enjoy a meal, and sitting through a seemingly annoying song could make the streets safer and easier to drive on. So don’t be the person falling victim to what is now known as the ‘driving norm’ and make better decisions for beloved families in automobiles by making sure your eyes are on the road and don’t leave it unless you blink. In conclusion, people get distracted constantly by many things around then and could take a life or two but this could be stopped with simple actions that could be taken immediately.