Name: Emma Schweitzer
From: Louisville, KY
Votes: 0
Emma
Schweitzer
Driver
Education Initiative Award
17
November 2019
A
New Epidemic: Texting and Driving
Have
you ever jaywalked? Thrown out someone else’s
junk mail? Driven over the speed limit, even if it was only by a mile
or two? Although we may consider ourselves law-abiding citizens, many
of us have been guilty of one or more of these at some point in our
lives. Laws like these are ignored every day. They get such little
recognition because they are poorly enforced and/or because citizens
simply don’t
understand why they are important. Although we see these actions as
harmless, one of the most ignored laws out there leads to
approximately ten deaths per day.
Ever
since I was a child, it was drilled into my head that I must never
drive drunk. My experience was not an uncommon one.
As
drivers became more educated about the dangers of drunk driving,
fewer and fewer did so. Instead, they turned to designated drivers,
Uber, “Sober
Cabs”,
etc. to keep us safe. And it worked! Between 1991 to 2010, drunk
driving fatalities declined by over 35%.
And
yet, just as that epidemic began to fade, a new one replaced it:
texting and driving. Despite causing over three thousand deaths per
year, people continue to text and drive. This is because the crime is
not nearly as enforced as drunk driving, nor is it as talked about.
To minimize the number of fatalities caused by texting and driving,
we must replicate the attack on drunk driving.
First,
educate the drivers. Put statistics on texting and driving
everywhere, fill the televisions with PSAs on the dangers of driving
distracted. Give short education sessions on the dangers of texting
and driving before you buy a car, get your license, etc. Be sure the
drivers are educated before they have the chance to hurt themselves
or others.
In
addition to this, most phones have motion sensors to prevent texting
while driving, but it is easy to click “I’m
not driving”
and
continue to use your phone. I propose this feature goes a step
further and requires a lengthier process of opening the phone when it
detects it’s owner is driving. This will further discourage phone
usage while on the road.
I
also propose stricter enforcement of this law. If citizens know they
are likely to get caught and fined/arrested for texting while
driving, they will be less likely to do so. We want to do all we can
to discourage today’s
drivers from driving while distracted.
Through
education and stricter enforcement, we can reduce the number of
deaths on the road, making this world a safer and happier place.
