Are You Distracted?

Imagine being able to conveniently control a large box of metal that allows you to go wherever you want to go. Seems safe, right? It seems to be because millions of people do it everyday, but when looking at the statistics, vehicle accidents are much more common than you would ever think. Nobody would ever think a vehicular accident would actually happen to them in a million years. Driver’s education is boring, nobody wants to be sitting at home, or wherever you are, and staring at a screen trying to explain all the aspects about driving when most of it seems like common sense. Especially when you are itching to just start driving. However, there is a reason for driver’s education to be required. Imagine people did not have to go through that and just began driving. That would be scary. Personally, I don’t think I would ever get on the road if that was the case.

Every driver’s education course spends a lot of time teaching the student that they should not be texting and driving. This is because officials recognize that distracted driving is the number one cause of vehicle accidents, even if it doesn’t seem to be. There is no such thing as multitasking, human brains simply do not work that way. If you ever thought you were multitasking, you were actually just doing one task at a time and just constantly alternating in between. This means that you are constantly taking your attention off the road and on whatever you’re distracted on. There are several ways to avoid the number of deaths as a result of driving such as staying off your phone. Once you get into your car, you can tell your friends and family that you will not be able to answer them for a while because you will be driving, then simply set your phone on silent so it will not distract you during your drive. You need to get rid of all distractions because if it is out of mind, it is out of sight until you get to your destination.

I am grateful that I have never been in a serious car accident so far. However, there was a time where my mom was driving as usual and suddenly there was an elderly man, who was driving a sedan, that hit our car while at a traffic light stop. He was trying to switch lanes at the last second and apparently thought he would fit into the gap between our SUV and the car in front of him or did not even see an entire SUV in front of him. He winded up hitting our car and scraped it all across the right side, all the while staring at me through the passenger seat window. Unfortunately, he quickly drove away just as the light turned green. There was another incident where we had almost t-boned someone else. We were driving to my grandparents house and going through a straight road, driving at the speed limit (and following traffic rules, of course). Right when we passed a side street, there was a car that jumped out of nowhere, and did not stop for their stop sign. They did not appear to even slightly slow down, I imagine thinking that there would be no cars passing through because that road is fairly empty usually, and turned left. Thankfully, my mom stopped the car right in time. I came to realize that my heart was beating out of my chest and I was trembling in fear. I really thought we were going to collide straight into that car. From that moment, everytime I go through that street, and sometimes other similar streets blocking the view of a perpendicular road, I subconsciously tense up and hold my breath as if bracing for impact. I always notice my heartrate start to race and my breathing begins to quicken, thinking that there might be a similar occurrence. I hate that it happens and I hate the driver for that, but I learned from them the reason not to run a stop sign.

Driving fast isn’t as cool as it seems. Neither is texting while driving. DId you know that just looking at your phone for 5 seconds while driving at a speed of 40 MPH you’ve already traveled around 200 feet basically blind? It seems crazy to think about it like that, but that’s the reality of it. A lot can happen in 5 seconds, especially if you’re driving on the road. Remember when you’re in the driver’s seat, you are in control of everything that happens in the vehicle. So if your in the car with your friends and they’re distracting you, make them stop being a distraction. If, in any case, they don’t listen to you, pull over and wait for them to calm down. If even that doesn’t stop them, then maybe they aren’t the type of person you should be carpooling with.

My mom has always told me to prioritize safety, especially of myself. There are many ways to reduce the number of fatal accidents while on the road. Do not ever forget to buckle your seatbelt, obey traffic laws, and use your signals at all times. Seriously, don’t risk your life for a little adrenaline rush.