The Solution to Distracted Driving

The Solution to Distracted Driving

Zachary Fleisch

659 Cypress Green Circle

Wellington, FL 33414

561-379-4949

“Where r u???”, “U almost here?”, “Coming to the football game tn?”. These are a few of the many texts that I receive on my daily drive to school. After every notification, my first instinct is to grab my phone and answer the text immediately. However, this is very distracting and dangerous for all drivers on the road, especially new, teen drivers. While we are accustomed to multitasking throughout our daily lives, driving is the one time where 100% concentration is necessary. In a 2018 study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 2,800 people were killed and almost 400,000 were injured as a result of distracted driving, including innocent pedestrians. Distracted driving is a major problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

My solution to this dilemma is a lockbox. This lockbox will hold teenagers’ phones while they’re driving in order to prevent them from interacting with their phones. My lockbox would require a phone to be inside of it and connected to the car in order to turn the car on and will only release the phone once the car is turned off. By using this box, teenagers would physically be unable to access their cellphones while driving.

My new invention would work similarly to the breathalyzer that is installed in cars for individuals on probation for a DUI. The breathalyzer test needs to be passed in order to turn on the car engine, and my device would perform a similar function with a phone inside the lockbox. To ensure that a teen does not place any item in the box (other than their phone), there would be a USB connector inside the box for the phone to connect to. If there is no successful connection, then the box would not lock and the teen would not be able to start the car. This would not only guarantee that a phone is connected and locked inside the box, but also allow teens to access their phone hands-free through applications such as Apple CarPlay and Siri, allowing them to keep their hands on the wheel at all times and keep their eyes focused on the roads. With this, the teens would still be able to access their phones in order to play their favorite music, make a phone call to a friend or family member, or any other hands-free action while driving.

Ultimately, my lockbox solution would drastically reduce the number of distracted driving accidents that occur every year. Although the majority of teens constantly feel the need to check their phones and reply immediately to all their notifications, my lockbox would prevent them from taking their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. The USB connection would ensure that an actual phone is in the box and also allow the teen to access their applications hands-free. Finally, when the teen turns off the car engine, they can access their phone and tell their friends they arrived safely to school and are excited about the big game.