Name: Layne Wright
From: Glendale , AZ
Votes: 0
Deadly
Distracted Driving
We’ve
all been there. Driving, listening to music, and all the sudden you
hear your text tone. You think, “What if it’s him?” So, you
pick up your phone to look at the text and maybe even text back. You
take your eyes off the road for one second, but that’s all it
takes.
In
2016, there were four teenage girls, leaving their neighborhood on
their way to high school. The driver became distracted and pulled
onto the main street without looking. The car was hit on the driver’s
side, and the collision resulted in the death of 15 year-old Alexa
Flores. Alexa was never seen alive again because of her friend’s
negligence. I didn’t tell you that story to make you sad, I told
that story to inform you that driving, while important, can be
dangerous. It needs to be done properly to ensure the safety of all
people on the roads.
Driving
education is not just a lesson on how to drive logistically. It is a
lesson on defensive driving. Defensive driving teaches you to
evaluate potentially dangerous situations and how to maneuver around
them in order to stay safe. Today’s driving school curriculum
includes extended class instruction followed by more hours of behind
the wheel driving. This is mostly effective; however, there needs to
be distracted driving courses to influence young drivers to stray
from driving while doing other things. There are many distracted
driving courses available; however, they are not included in the
requirements for passing the course. To ensure teenagers fully
understand the risks of texting, applying make-up, or friends being
rowdy in the backseat, these lessons can’t be taught while sitting
behind a desk. They need to be behind the wheel in a simulation that
demonstrates these actual distractions while the teen is driving. It
is necessary for the teen to sit behind the wheel and experience what
it feels like to lose control of the motor vehicle.
Driving
is necessary for many people. Kids in school and parents that work,
often rely on motor vehicles as transportation. Distracted driving
doesn’t just affect you and the people in the car you are in; It
affects everyone surrounding the car. In an instant, a slight swerve
could turn into a spinning car out of control. A quick glance away to
look at your phone could result in a deadly accident for another
unsuspecting driver, like my friend Alexa. As teenagers, we have our
entire lives ahead of us with bright futures and big families. But,
we will miss it if we don’t stay alert and attentive and
responsible.
