Distracted Driving

Technological advancements have been a major key in the future of transportation throughout the world. From the creation of the wheel to GPS there’s constant innovation of how to get people from one place to another a quickly as possible. While technology assists motor vehicles, it also brings the downfall and cause of many accidents.

As a teenager, I’m very aware of the texting and driving issue. For some reason, young people seem to gravitate towards their phones at every waking moment of their day. Technology like phones or even large screens already in vehicles have led to many tragic occurrences. Car accidents being the number one killer of teens across America has caused devastation to the thought of young people driving.

However, technological advancements have given opportunities for efficiency over centuries past. Now it is much easier to find one’s way home if they were to get lost by simply typing your address into your vehicle or asking Siri to take you home. Electric vehicles have made major technological advancement in saving the earth and providing a less costly way of transportation. Even trying to think about New York without its railways seems nauseating. Technology will forever advance and slowly create less and less manual labor involved throughout society, but it’ll all come at a cost.

Vehicles have always been a luxury, whether it be a new Harley Davidson or an old Honda civic. Your vehicle is a staple in society that represents you and your lifestyle. When the luxury of a vehicle is not always present, there are benefits. A child may ride their bike to school promoting exercise and interacting with their environment. They may even walk with their friends encouraging a social interaction. When phones or other technology come into play, a problem situates. If a child were to be walking to school and a driver looking at his or her phone neglects to see them, the child may get hit. In newer vehicles like Tesla’s with large screens right in the middle of the front row, there’s even more distraction with games and Netflix being an option to play while driving.

Unfortunately, every innovation has a pro and a con and when it comes to technology in motor transportation, the cons outweigh the pros. It causes endless amounts of distractions and accidents on a daily basis. Even advancements in vehicle production have made cars less durable over time. A car from the 50’s wouldn’t dent as deeply as a brand-new Mazda because they were built with more care, not mass-produced cheaper material.

Technology has created easy ways out for humans across the world allowing for interferences with safety. Without it, the world may not be as advanced but would hands down be a much safer place for children to walk across the street or ride their bike to school. Distractions while driving is a major issue amongst many areas and needs to be addressed as loudly as possible. No matter what, the cost of a simple text could be another’s life and should always be the thought in the back of every drivers head.