Not Just a Statistic

We’ve all heard the statistics and cautionary tales about distracted driving, both online and in our own communities. There are “nearly 43,000 fatal crashes a year in the U.S.,” with “an estimated 6,102,936 police-reported vehicle accidents in the United States” in 2021. “Car crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for people ages 1 to 54” (Moore and Gollub), and dangerous behaviors like speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, and distracted driving increase your chances of a serious collision. 

I’ve had many scary experiences with car accidents in my life. One day in 7th grade, my friend’s mom picked my sister and I up from school. I assumed that my parents were busy or just working late. However, I began to worry as it got later with still no word from my parents.

At around 9pm, my parents picked me up. I learned that my dad had been in a collision and was injured and our car was totaled. Tears filled my eyes at the thought of my dad in the emergency room, but I was also so relieved because it could have been worse. My dream of inheriting that car when I got my own driver’s license dissipated. The person behind my dad had checked his GPS for a split second and ended up colliding with my dad’s car. Watching my dad’s recovery from that accident and the lawsuit that ensued made me realize how serious distracted driving can be, even in a non-fatal or disabling crash. 

After that, I had a heightened sense of safety while driving with my parents. Whenever my mom would send a quick text or my dad would eat while driving, I would immediately offer to send the text for my mom or encourage my dad to wait until we got home. I recently got my own license and keep those values in mind.

Louisiana is one of the most dangerous states to drive in, so we have a rigorous drivers’ ed program before getting our permits to try to combat that. While parts of it were absolutely necessary and helpful, like defensive driving tactics, I found some of the content redundant, like it was just there to get the hours in. Drivers’ ed can save lives, but only if filled with the knowledge that students need to become safe and responsible drivers.

Something that I think needs to be emphasized more is the selfishness of distracted driving. By texting while driving, you are sending the message out to all other drivers on the road that “My text is more important than your life.” In today’s productivity culture, oftentimes people are only focused on what they need to gain from a situation and not the livelihoods of anyone else involved.

Many people’s subconscious mindset is “I glance at my phone all the time and haven’t gotten into a collision over it, so it must be fine.” We have to remember that that’s everyone’s mindset until a collision happens to them. The man behind my dad didn’t think he was going to get into a crash until it happened. 

The thing is that it shouldn’t take a personal experience to teach people the dangers of distracted driving. In drivers’ ed, watching gory videos of car crashes didn’t affect me nearly as much as the small personal experience of my dad’s accident. So how would we spread awareness for people who haven’t had that experience? 

I think that the power of people being vulnerable and sharing their stories with others is underestimated. It reminds us that stats we hear aren’t just numbers, but people, with loved ones and lives. For example, 2021 data shows that “unrestrained occupant deaths currently account for 50% of deaths” in car accidents (National Safety Council). This factually shows that it’s much safer to wear a seatbelt, yet many people don’t. While I’ve always worn seatbelts, what solidified that practice for me was a story from a state trooper. He was presenting at school and said that of the hundreds of car crashes he’d responded to in his 50 years of service, he’d never had to unbuckle the seatbelt of a dead body.

No one should have to lose their lives due to the negligence of someone driving a vehicle.  All it can take to save a life is the simple, small selfless act of turning off your notifications while you’re driving, focusing on the road, and minimizing distractions. While too many people suffer in car crashes, I think we can move in a positive direction and lower that number by harboring selflessness, listening empathetically to other people’s stories, taking them to heart, and educating people through supplementation of facts and experiences to appeal to emotions.

Works Cited

Moore, Timothy, and Heidi Gollub. “Fatal Car Crash Statistics 2024.” USA Today, 16 January 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/auto-insurance/fatal-car-crash-statistics/. Accessed 1 February 2024.

National Safety Council. “Seat Belts – Occupant protection.” Injury Facts, https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/occupant-protection/seat-belts/. Accessed 7 February 2024.