Dangers of Driving

How to reduce dangerous driving habits, particularly texting or using social media while driving amongst teenagers

Dangerous driving habits endangers not only the driver but the people around them. People need to realize that sending a single text message could end up taking someone’s life. There are many ways to reduce dangerous driving habits amongst drivers. This is an especially an issue of concern for teenagers and young adults that somehow feel that it they don’t send that smiling or thumbs up emoji as a response within the 2.9 seconds upon receiving a text, it will somehow alter their life in a negative manner.

One way that we could prevent future dangerous driving habits is to educate future and current drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. It should be required before licensed drivers get their license to take classes online about the dangers of driving while texting, drinking, with friends, etc. I believe it is very important that drivers should be informed about the dangers of driving while distracted.

I don’t believe that there are enough preventative measures out there to help teenagers, young adults and drivers in general to raise awareness how a split second of reaching for your phone, answering a text or engaging in a facetime can affect your full attentive ability to safely drive and be aware of others driving.

There are several ways that awareness can be implemented. There used to be a lot of advertising behind the dangers of “your brains on drugs”. Those were really shocking and compelling enough to catch one’s attention to view the entire commercial. I also believe that all teenagers should be required to activate their phones to CarPlay or a mechanism that can detect and send automatic texts or phone messages relaying that they cannot speak because they are driving.

Furthermore, another way to prevent future dangerous habits is to install apps that prevent phone usage while driving. Apps like LifeSaver and Drivemode are just a few examples of the many apps available for drivers. Apple provides an option in settings to put users iphones on do not disturb while driving to prevent users from looking at their phone when driving. Additionally, future cars should have GPS’s in the cars so they would not have to look at their phones to get directions. Every second that is spent not looking at the road could end up taking someone life.

With the same efforts that those mechanisms are applied, rewards should be extended to those that do not engage in phone calls or texting while driving. Some insurance companies provide premium discounts. This may be something that more would like to engage in and other vendors like the SunPass or toll mechanisms in different states and award safety bucks. The same can be considered for mobile providers and they can provide incentives via their channels to encourage and support folks to engage in safely driving by not answering or using their phones while working. A badge system may also be something to encourage drivers to do better and if they did use their phone while driving maybe consider not doing so the next time and getting double points for not doing so.

In the future, drivers should take precautions and educate themselves on the dangers of driving. Drivers should know how dangerous it is to use their phones while driving. Statistics like those offered by The National Safety Council should be shared by different media and outlets more often. In 2021 thus far, they report that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. Nearly 390,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving. 1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.

To really hone in on these efforts, a more local effort can occur and local Representatives, schools [from elementary to post-secondary], non-profit organizations, religious organizations, etc. can strive to be the safest neighborhood because they have the “lowest rate of phone usage while driving” They can possibly call it something savvy and every year their be a winner. Maybe the lottery system can contribute to funding going to the neighborhoods, towns, cities, or counties that are proactive and successful in their efforts. For those schools or institutions that offer drivers ed classes, they can also possibly have their own effort where they ask the students to commit to not engaging in phone use as part of their driver’s education. Those schools can also have their own acknowledgement where they can be recognized as a Safe School for Driving.

In short, the possibilities are endless. Even this mere essay provoked me to think of ways that I can contribute to this issue and provide solutions to consider. The possibilities are endless, and the potential is infinitive if we come together and implement preventative measures, so we are proactive versus reactive.