A Lesson Learned

It was the day before my 12th birthday when we got the phone call that my mom was in a horrible accident. She was driving home from work along the river when she dropped her phone while sending a quick text message. She quickly reached down to grab the phone, but there was an unexpected turn in the road. She flew and tumbled down the side of the road. She should have flown into the river, but something right on the bank of the river stopped her from going in. I have never seen a car so mangled and destroyed. It was an absolute miracle that my mom hadn’t died; she should have either been smashed while tumbling down the side of the road or drowned in the river. But thank the Lord, she made it out alive.

I was so relieved to see her the next day alive and well, and she had such deep regrets for using her phone while driving. She strongly expressed the importance of not texting and driving to my sister and me. And she vowed to never do it again. I think it shocked her to know that she could have died, but she somehow made it out alive. Sadly, sometimes it takes an awful event to spark change. Although I hadn’t started driving yet, I promised myself I would never put myself in that situation. Now that I am a driver, I realize how important it is to not be a distracted driver. Cars are powerful vehicles, and driving them irresponsibly can cause grave danger to yourself and those around you. It’s so important to drive safely and undistracted.

Since distracted driving is a widespread problem among my generation, a large amount of action needs to be taken for anything to change. But there are many steps to help stop distracted driving among teens.

First off, I believe implementing driver education in schools as a mandatory course would dramatically increase responsible and safe driving among teens. A study done by ODOT found that 91% of teen crashes were the fault of teenagers who did not take a driver education course. If we required that all teens take a driver education course during school, we could increase safer and less distracted driving. The high prices and intense schedule of most driver education programs make it unavailable for most students, but if it were government-funded and required at all high schools, we could have a safer and better society. I personally attended a driver education program, and I can attest to the wonderful outcomes of it. There are only so many ways a parent can teach their child’s driving skills, but this course taught me priceless information that could have been lifesaving. In regards to distracted driving, we had a lesson about the horrible effects of distracted driving. I remember watching a movie about families and loved ones speaking on behalf of someone in their lives who had been killed simply by distracted driving. This lesson hit all of the students in the room, and we were all thoroughly convinced to not drive distracted.

Another idea directed specifically at teens would be to widely spread facts, information, and warnings about distracted driving on social media. Roughly 90% of teens use social media, and a study published by a nonprofit research organization called Common Sense Media shows that the average social media usage per day by teenagers is 4.8 hours. We must take advantage of this opportunity. The best way to target teens is to spend the most effort spreading awareness in the area in which they spend their time. The large majority of teens spend ⅕ of their day on social media. Getting celebrities involved to help share their stories about distracted driving and advise their followers not to drive distracted would result in a major change. Also, sharing heartbreaking stories as advertisements on social media is the best way to convince teens not to drive distracted. Every teen has seen a cautioning billboard that says “don’t drive distracted,” but they often fail to provoke any compelling reasons to refrain from driving distracted. I remember seeing a video of a mother receiving a call from the police notifying her that her son had died in a car accident due to distracted driving. The sound of the mother in extreme distress and unimaginable sadness truly made an impact on me. As I read the comment section, other teens my age expressed how the video impacted them and made them feel. To provoke any change, the advertisements or posts on social media must make teens want to change, and it must make them feel something; otherwise, it will just go past their heads. A simple “don’t drive distracted” advertisement has never stuck with me, but putting myself in the shoes of that video and thinking about my mother receiving a call that I had died in an accident after her accident truly convinced me to not drive distracted.

On top of these things, I believe that implementing rewards for teens to not drive while using a phone would be extremely successful. My insurance company has an app that keeps track of my driving habits and tells me how good of a driver I am, but there are no incentives; all I get is a star sticker on my screen. But we have the technology to create an app that allows teens to compete against other drivers for coupons, gift cards, or deals. Incentives will be the most motivating way to get teens to stop using their phones while driving.

By implementing driver education for all teens, social media advertisements and accounts, along with celebrities sharing about distracted driving on social media, and incentives through an app, we can significantly reduce distracted driving among young adults and teens. Raising awareness about the severity of the consequences of distracted driving is the key to eliminating it. Let’s develop these ideas and watch the horrible effects of distracted driving diminish.