Distracted Driving Scholarship Essay

Distracted
driving is an issue that has plagued the Earth with more frequency
over the past decade. Drivers must be aware of their surroundings at
all times. If a driver is not paying attention on the road, it
affects both the individual driver and the other drivers and
pedestrians in the vicinity. Speeding, drifting into another lane,
slowing down, blowing through a stop sign, increasing speed to avoid
a red light are only a few of the many things a driver may witness on
any given day. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), “Every
day, at least nine people die and 1,000 are injured in distracted
driving crashes.” This are way too many people that are being hurt
and possibly killed due to a driver’s inability to pay sole
attention to the task at hand. “15.6% of young drivers (ages 18-24)
have admitted to texting while driving and 20% of them claim to be
‘not familiar at all’ with their state’s texting while driving
laws.”(thezebra.com). You may think that 15.6% is a small
percentage but in the entire United States population, that is a huge
number. The number of people in that age group is 30.6 million, so
that’s 4,773,600 people that could be on the road right now causing
accidents. Add to that the likelihood that some young drivers may not
want to admit they aren’t following the law and that number
increases even more. So what can we do to reduce the number of
distracted drivers? Simple changes to behavior are needed. If we are
honest, the majority of our text messages and phone calls do not
require immediate response. However, if there is a known matter of
urgency and you need to respond right away, pull over to the side of
the road or have a passenger handle it for you. Use your vehicle’s
hands-free options by connecting through bluetooth or asking your AI
assistant (ex: Siri, Alexa) to read your message or answer your call.
If you are the passenger in a vehicle and notice the driver’s
distraction, offer to assist them with finding directions, changing
the music station or offering to drive. By practicing and sharing
these simple steps, you can help protect the lives of your loved ones
and all those they come in contact with while driving. Even if you
think you already know everything I stated above, you don’t.
There’s no way of knowing everything that could happen when you
take that one second to pull your phone out and send that one text or
open the phone app to call your significant other. It’s always a
gamble when you text and drive. It only takes 5 seconds with your
eyes off the road to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph.
You don’t have to imagine what that could do to another car or your
own, there are plenty of resources available if you want to see the
kind of damage that can cause. Car crash images speak only to the
physical damage, not the emotional pain and suffering endured. Do
your part to prevent these accidents from happening by paying full
attention on the road at all times.