Adults Are Our Greatest Role Model

I feel driver education begins very young at home. Your parents, or guardians, are your role models when you observe their driving techniques and habits while being a passenger in their vehicles, for many years. Kids that observe parents and guardians scrolling on their smart phones or texting with one hand, while driving with the other, sends a message to the kid that that behavior is ok. Sadly, it also teaches the kid that answering a text message, staying up-to-date on the latest Facebook News Feed and reading the latest tweet from Twitter, is more important than watching out for oncoming traffic. I feel if parents, guardians, relatives, etc. set better examples of driving while the kids are young, the positive habits would pass onto them because children exhibit what they know and what they’ve grown up with.

In my opinion, the actual drivers education class teenagers take should stress the importance of keeping their phone out of sight, like in a purse, in a back seat or if need be, the trunk. There are too many teen driving deaths that are related to cell phone use that the curriculum has to be updated. The curriculum should be updated in a way that captures the teenagers attention and the seriousness of the situation. It seems showing the wreckages of car accidents or teens at funerals isn’t enough to get the message across that their lives are seriously at stake.

A good next step to reduce the number of deaths, in my opinion, would be to practice what’s being preached. Practicing what’s been taught in class, during the behind the wheel lessons, is a good way of creating a new healthy habit that will impact these kids. For example, the instructor and the driver putting the cell phone in the back seat or in the trunk, as taught in the class, helps practice the teachings, implements a new habit and show teens how the teachers are taking the lessons seriously.

A way to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is by updating phones so they could sense when the driver is in driving mode, and when that is sensed, the screen and apps are locked. The phone wouldn’t be able to be unlocked until the drive is done and the car has shut off. For extra security, it would need to sense when you’re walking, which indicates the drive is done and the car is no longer moving, so the phone and apps unlock, returning your phone to normal.

Another way to help reduce deaths would be for phones being required to be on the dashboard of the car, clicked into place. The phone wouldn’t unclick from the dashboard until the drive is done.

Bluetooth on the phone and car could also be enabled every time so that if a call needs to be made, it can be made hands free. Something that goes hand-in-hand with Bluetooth is once the phone is connected, the phone screen is connected to the car’s windshield. It will be something like a smart shield and can pick up on if the car is driving or not. When the phone is disconnected from the car and windshield, the phone will unlock making all apps accessible.

Thankfully, I have never experienced a car accident in my life. Though I’ve ridden with friends who weren’t driving responsibly. I have a couple friends that hold their phone in between their legs or in the cup holder while they drive. They keep their notifications on loud and pick up and look at the phone when they are alerted. All while changing lanes, crossing through busy traffic and merging onto the freeway. It felt dangerous driving with them, so I don’t ride along with them anymore, but their bad habits have shown me first hand how risky it is to divide your attention between the road and your phone. To this day, I’m thankful for my life and for being able to finish those rides with my life intact.

Something I can do to be a better and safer driver is to 1: put my notifications on silent mode and 2: put my phone away in my purse or out of sight in my purse that’s behind my seat. My phone is a distraction, so the quieter and farther away from me I can get it, the better.

Something I can do to help others become safer on the road is to share my scary experiences, what I’ve tried and what’s working for me. I can also encourage my friend group to make a pact so we all make smarter choices to reduce distractions while driving. I don’t have to stop there either. I can share this information with the adults in my life because they are ultimately role models to those younger than them. Lastly, in my friend group and the group of adults in my life, I can encourage them to pass the knowledge onto others, especially the younger generation, so knowledge is being shared and spread and hopefully preventing accidents.