Driver Education and the Dangers of Distracted Driving

According to the US Department of Transportation 38,000 people lose their lives each year in car accidents, which makes it the leading cause of death in the country. Approximately 3500 of these fatalities can be attributed to distracted driving. Unfortunately, these statistics do not mean much to many new young drivers when they are presented in Drivers Ed class. An all too common perception is: “This won’t happen to me, I am a good driver, and I can handle that!”

I have had my driver’s license since shortly after my 16th birthday. Leading up to my test, I practiced diligently with my mother and with my father. During these practice drives my father often cautioned me to always pay attention and not to get distracted by the radio, the music selection, incoming calls or texts. Of course this made sense to me, especially while I was still learning to operate the vehicle in complex traffic scenarios. Even after I received my license, I drove the car very cautiously and conscientiously. I felt confident on my rather short and well known commutes. As required by law, my phone was mounted on the dash and calls and music were transmitted to the radio via bluetooth. I seldomly took calls while driving and while I enjoyed listening to music on my drives I never felt distracted by it. Or so I thought…

On November 13th 2022: I was invited to an event just outside the city. It was a dark and very rainy night, but that did not raise any concern at that time. After all, I considered myself a good driver. As many times before, I navigated by using apple maps on my carefully dash-mounted phone. I noticed that the windshield wipers were not really doing a good job at keeping the heavy rain from obstructing my view. As I turned onto the two lane country road of my final destination, the rain intensified and there were deep puddles everywhere. The visibility was terrible as there were no street lights outside the city limits. I remember the song that was playing loudly on my radio, when my overly bright navigation system signaled me to turn left into the driveway of my destination. I began to turn left, crossing the other lane. I saw the headlights of the car coming the other way, but they seemed very far away; certainly far enough for me to complete my turn. At least that’s what I thought.

As I initiated the turn, the headlights became brighter and raced at me from my right side at what seemed like 60 miles per hour. I cannot fully describe the emotional intensity of that split-second right before the crash, but I know it still has a lasting effect on me today. I am sure the occupants of the other car, two teenagers in a supercharged Camaro, felt similar as they raced towards me at high speed.

After the crash, both of the totaled cars came to a stop in my friend’s front yard. All airbags had deployed and the street was littered with debris. Amazingly neither they nor I had a scratch on our bodies. The accident immediately left me in a surreal state of mind: I could not believe I was alive. I think

The following days, I reflected intensely on what had happened, what caused this to happen and how lucky I had been. Sure, I can attribute this accident to the bad visibility, the road conditions or the high rate of speed of oncoming traffic. What had made me misjudge the distance and thus initiate the turn? The more I think of it, I come to the conclusion that it was an accumulation of contributing factors that were significantly enhanced by the distraction of my music and navigation display on my phone. Today, when driving, I conscientiously make an effort to remain focused. Yes, I still enjoy listening to music, but I don’t get “carried away” by it. Yes, I still use navigation apps to find my destination, but I make sure the brightness level is adjusted and I do not get distracted by it.

Undoubtedly, the biggest possible distraction during driving for drivers of my generation is texting or social media use. The drug-like addiction to social media has been the subject of many studies and has been sufficiently proven. Especially among young drivers, the phone can be regarded as the number one distraction. What can be done to mitigate the risk from distraction by the use of phones while driving?

First and foremost, it requires awareness, understanding and buy-in from the individual drivers. Thinking back to my accident, I was unaware that I was even slightly distracted. Consequently, the commitment to refrain from phone use while driving should be reinforced by positive peer interaction. It’s one thing to hear your old dad tell you to not touch that phone, but it becomes more meaningful from a buddy or friend. At the same time, one should take a strong stance and never drive with a driver that texts while driving. I also found it helpful to consider alternatives or strategies to circumvent distractions by incoming texts, tweets or snaps. Since I still want to utilize my navigation and music apps and take an occasional call from my parents, I have decided it is best to connect my phone via cable or bluetooth to the Apple-Car-Play function. I then store it in the middle console where I am not tempted to look at it at all.

In conclusion, I feel blessed that I have been given a second chance, as I know that many accidents of this kind end in horrible tragedies. I have also made a commitment to preventing others from making similar or worse mistakes and educating them about the dangers of distracted driving.