Am I Part of The Problem?

How I Could Be Considered A Distracted Driver

I would like to believe that overall I’m a good driver, but of course no one’s perfect. If anyone claims to have no flaws I would call them a liar because we all have little things we’re not proud of but still do anyways. I’m a very cautious person who likes to live life safely. My whole life I’ve tended to stick to the rules and adhere to what society expects of me. However I’m also an impatient person sometimes. In my opinion this is one of my worst habits or qualities. I struggle to wait for things to happen or be done because I love completing things. I enjoy checking something off my to-do list and the sooner I finish something the sooner I can move on to the next task. This plays into my impatience because I want to move on to whatever’s next on my agenda. Once I turned 16 and began driving it became more of an issue because it has the capability of getting me, or worse someone else, in danger.

Two of my worst habits while driving that could very well prove dangerous one day are that I check my phone and I occasionally go over the speed limit. Both of these relate to how I can be impatient in life. The latter is one I’m sure many people can relate to. In this day and age we are practically one and the same with our smartphones. Most people, especially in my generation, struggle to go even an hour without it. As much as I would love to say I’m not addicted to my phone, I can’t lie. I too would feel lost without it after a day or so. As a result of everyone being attached at the hips to their phones, a lot of people, including myself, can’t resist peeking at it while driving sometimes. My issue is that I feel like I need to check texts or other notifications immediately. I feel like I need to respond quickly or I’ll let someone down. This also has a connection to a well known phenomenon that is ever present with all the social media out there: FOMO, or the fear of missing out. I’m sure the vast majority of people experience some form or another of this. More so than feeling like I’m being ostracized, I have a deep need to be neat and orderly. I don’t feel good when there are notifications on my phone because it makes my phone look messy. I can’t explain this but it makes it difficult for me to leave notifications for long periods of time. Checking my phone is bad enough on its own, but it’s made worse when I speed. Speeding of course ties into my being impatient, but on top of that I have a fear of being late. My whole life I’ve felt deep paranoia when I think I’m gonna be late anywhere. Perhaps it’s a part of needing to keep my life organized. Now what’s the best way to avoid being late? Speeding up of course.

There are steps I can take to ending my distracted driving behaviors, and they’re all mental solutions. Since my problems are mostly rooted in my character traits or psychological behaviors, the best way to counteract them is to take a mental approach. As far as my impatience, fear of missing out, and hatred of being late goes, I need to calmly take a deep breath and come to some conclusions. I need to realize that the world won’t fall apart if I don’t respond to a text or check a notification immediately. My life won’t be destroyed because I arrived a little late. People will understand. They won’t understand if I kill myself or someone else in a car accident because I was looking at my phone or going over the speed limit. These irrational fears and needs are all in my head. I shouldn’t concern myself with the little things that don’t impact my life in any meaningful way. I understand that some of these traits, such as my desire to constantly be organized that borderlines obsession, aren’t things I can change about myself with the snap of my fingers. However, they are things that I can work to control. The best steps for me to take to keep both myself and everyone around me safe are to do three things. First, as I said I need to remind myself that people will forgive me for being late or not responding right away. That’s simply a fact of life I need to come to terms with. Second, I need to keep my phone in a place where it won’t distract me in the car. In my opinion the best place is probably in my pocket with it on silent so I won’t even think about it while driving. Finally, as for speeding, I should remind myself regularly while driving that there’s a reason for speed limits. They’re meant to keep everyone safe and I don’t get a special exception when I’m running late. The best way to avoid being late is to plan ahead by leaving early and tracking how bad traffic is. All of these simple tactics together should prove to be a solid solution to my worst distracted driving habits.