Name: Morgan Heacock
From: Bridgewater, NJ
Votes: 0
Hello, I am Morgan, an eighteen-year-old girl living smack dab in the
middle of New Jersey, which is only the most notorious state for
impatient and aggressive drivers. That known fact can make learning
to drive on the NJ Turnpike, or basically any road for that matter,
so nerve-racking. I was sixteen when I sat behind the wheel for the
first time. Hesitant, shaky, but somehow a little confident. This was
not the first time I learned how to drive. It was not even the first
time, in school, sophomore year, when I passed my written test, I
learned how to drive, let me explain. I have been learning how to
drive since I was in Intermediate school, my fifth and sixth grade
years. I studied my parents; they are fantastic drivers. “Pull into
the closest lane” “Change one lane at a time” “As soon as you
know you are turning into the next turn put on a blinker” “Do not
use your phone while driving”. I have driver safety branded in my
brain.
I did a program with my insurance company. I logged times I drove,
what I was nervous about, what the goal was for that trip, for
example change lanes confidently or stay aware of debris on the road.
In the packet there was a check box to say if you used your phone or
not during the trip. I wondered if kids were truthful or not when
filling these out because a lot of my friends would have to check the
yes box. For me, it didn’t really matter, I never use my phone
while driving. I have seen horror stories of teens dying in car
accidents due to cell phone usage. It is one of the leading causes of
teenager deaths in the United States. I am an advocate for safe
driving and all my friends know it. I pride myself on being a good
driver, I truly believe I am the best out of my friend group. I see
them on their phones, and I try to inform them that using their phone
is not safe and at the moment, I, along with them, am at danger. I
ask to text for them, change the song for them, honestly, its what I
grew up doing.
Car accidents need to stop with cell phones being the reason why. It
has become a huge problem and has more lives taken than wars in Iraq
and in Afghanistan. With all the technology in cars nowadays, like
Bluetooth and in car navigation it should be easier to put down the
cellphone and just drive. I encourage drivers to become aware of how
dangerous texting and driving is. An accident could happen in the
blink of an eye and your last words could be LOL wrapped in a blue
bubble, but no one would be laughing when its you wrapped in a body
bag on the side of a highway.
