It’s Real: Texting and Driving

Countless commercials are showing the fatalities that stem from texting and driving. Those ads are frightening, but not scary enough to impact the 1 in three teens that The American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation says text and drive. People can not sympathize with the actors on the screen, but if any of the situations became a reality for the teens that text and drive, their viewpoint would totally shift. It is sad to think that death is one of the few ways to make people more aware of the dangers, yet it is true. Now it is time to find another solution so that more people do not have to die from a frivolous action.

As a young fifteen-year-old, I sought assurance in nearly all of my actions, as to not disappoint whoever I was helping. While I was learning to drive, I looked at my dad to see if I was going too fast, if my turn was not tight enough, or if I put my blinker on early enough. Sure enough, he nodded with each glance. I wanted to be as safe as possible and minimize my chances of getting in a car wreck, so in the passenger seat, I studied his actions so I could mimic them when it was my turn to drive. Although my doing might be more detailed than my peers, the point is that I learned so much from my dad’s teachings. Had my dad been the type of person to text while driving, I would feel more inclined to follow. He is a safe driver and has instilled the same safeness.

I think the root of the problem are teens being influenced by peers or their parents. If I saw one of my friends texting and driving, I would call them out for not being safe, but many other teenagers would be silent bystanders. This has changed their outlook on texting and driving because they saw someone they like and admire doing it. Now they might feel “cool” if they text and drive. This is an ongoing chain reaction that leads to catastrophic events. Likewise, if a kid sees their parent texting and driving, this is the same parent that has taught them all their skills. They will not see the harm, especially if their parents have been lucky enough not to have any dangerous encounters from texting while driving.

The environment one surrounds themself in is exceptionally influential for this topic. Teenagers need friends who will serve as a second set of hands in the passenger seat, actively say no to texting and driving, and understand its dangers. Texting and driving needs more regulation because so much of it goes unnoticed. It is easy enough for kids to text and drive and not get caught, but I believe that if someone is caught once, they will never do it again. Cell phone developers like Apple, Google, and Samsung should develop more sophisticated programs to detect acts of texting and driving or programs that tell the driver the best place to pull off so they can respond to a text if they must. While most car manufacturers have the feature where you can respond to a text using voice, it needs to be in all cars. Instead of being a luxury add-on, it should be a staple and something that is required for a car to pass inspection. It is possible to reduce the risk of texting and driving, but it is important to minimize the issue at the root and come up with active ways to stop it. The current methods are working but not as efficiently as they can. Work needs to be done on all ends of the spectrum and in multiple industries.