Distracted Driving

Two out of three teenagers have admitted to using their phones while driving. More specifically, 27% of teenagers have admitted to texting while driving. Distracted driving can be anything that takes the driver’s complete and undivided attention off of the road and the vehicle’s surroundings, not just technology. In my state of Michigan, driver education courses must present multiple points aspects of the results of driving while distracted. My driver’s education course presented reenactments of car collisions and how the victims were treated after the event. Family members of distracted driving victims speaking about their experience of losing their loved ones was also presented. During this portion, I noticed many students turning their heads or leaving the room while the video was presented. However, this made me realize when you are in the moment of a car collision caused by distracted driving, you are not able to escape the event.

A piece of evidence I rely on when the topic discussion of distracted driving is introduced is the comparative response of the fear of flying. I believe individuals who have a fear of flying are the same people are hold their phones while at the wheel. The chances of dying, not simply injured but the loss of life, from a plane crash is one in eleven million in comparison to the odds of experiencing a car crash. Those who avoid boarding a plane but don’t check their mirrors while driving due to a social media notification have not properly recognized the true dangers they are exposed to.

My experience with distracted driving has been greatly impacted by my environment. I live in a city that is known as the ‘Cherry Capitol of the World’. Every year my small town experiences large amounts of tourists from all over the globe. This causes high amounts of traffic full of tourists who do not completely understand the innerworking of this small town. Every year there are constant reports of head-on collisions, reports of road rage, and course drunk driving. Along with a firm agricultural land holding the ability to grow mass amounts of cherries, the winery business has taken notice. Currently, within the 8.66 square miles of Traverse City, there are roughly fifty wineries throughout the region. And with that, the reports of impaired distracted drivers as gone up. I have constantly grown a fear that those who I share the road with do not hold positive intent to consider others’ lives. There is also the consent that comes with living in Northern Michigan is the harsh winter weather. There have been multiple instances I have experienced being rear-ended and sideswiped collisions where the driver responsible for the event to occur has left the scene without assassin the situation by any means. In the case of being rear-ended, I was on my way home from a lecture when I noticed someone who had crashed due to the harsh weather and had been inhibiting my lane. I was brought to a complete stop by road management. Directly after this order, I was rear-ended by a large truck ultimately pushing me into the neighboring ravine. Luckily, the driver responsible came to my window to what I thought, check if I was alright, only to be shocked when I was handed an insurance card stating “Sorry, I was on the phone” and walked away. After analyzing the information provided, I recognized the address. The driver who so carelessly treated the incident was my next-door neighbor. This event opened my eyes to realize distracted drivers are truly careless.

I am surprised to see after so many attempts to de-escalate distracted driving, there has been no sight of an end. The true questions are, why is distracted driving still an issue? And why do people underestimate the dangers that come with distracted driving? And my best response to these would be, they do not understand the severity. There is a popular defense mechanism that the majority of people don’t recognize they use “That could never happen to me”. The true and real answer is, that it can and will. Even so much as to pick up a smartphone for a second is the equivalent of intoxicative impairment. This is because the action of texting and driving is a cognitive distraction and can weaken reaction time (Is Texting And Driving Worse Than Drunk Driving?, 2024). Driving drunk is known to impair reaction time as well. With the aid of social media, the severity of distracted driving can become known. If those who have their attention held by social media are unable to untie themselves from various platforms and are the same individuals who are distracted while driving, then having various posts on social media platforms with aid in spreading awareness of just how impactful distracted driving is.

Throughout my childhood, public service announcements have been a helpful tool in bringing awareness to multiple issues the public managed. Creating posts on social media can be anything from short films to eye-catching photo posts highlighting the causes and effects of distracted driving. I also believe it would be beneficial to hear what victims of distracted driving have been through and what they have experienced ever since. I also believe reenactments for high school students are valuable. This is because high school students are typically the new drivers of our community. Outside of high school students, I imagine parents’ worrisome thoughts are brought to ease while their children are shown the true effects of distracted driving. My Generation Z is full of trends. These trends are followed by young impressionable contributing members of society. By supplying younger generations of incoming drivers with a slogan to remember to keep safe and alert when getting behind the wheel, distracted driving will be greatly minimized. Distracted driving should be the new face of awareness for current young generations, and generations to come, just as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) had such a big impact on Generation Z (D.A.R.E., n.d.)