Distractions and Observations

It is a bright and sunny day on summer break, and your friend calls you up to hang out at the pool with them. You agree to meet with them; you will be there in twenty minutes. You hop in your “new” 2009 Volkswagen Jetta and zoom off. While you are on a busy street, you get a text from another friend, and you lean over to take a look at it. They want you to pick them up before you head to the pool because they also want to hang out with you and your friend as well. You smile and begin to respond, only to be flung forward into the airbag. Your phone whizzes through the broken glass and lands in the road. You are in a state of panic now; what happened? “I was only just looking at a text!” you say to yourself. You and your vehicle veered into oncoming traffic when you were distracted with a text message.

It is important to understand all the distractions that are discussed in driver education. They are talked about for a reason—minor distractions can turn into deadly accidents within a matter of seconds. Driver’s education allows for drivers, especially young drivers, to understand the different types of distractions, and how to avoid them. It also helps you as a driver to know what to do when an accident occurs. Driver’s education demonstrates to drivers how to check for blind spots, judge speed, park, and stop/brake in emergency situations. These are important to understand because you as a driver can observe yourself in these situations and determine if conditions are safe to continue driving, or when to take extreme precaution to avoid an accident without obstructing traffic.

In order to reduce the number of deaths related to driving, it is important to press to friends and family why looking at your phone while driving, doing makeup, changing music on the radio, and looking at passengers when talking is unsafe. They are behaviors that take your eyes away from the road and mirrors; a minute movement can cause a major collision. To avoid these actions in the vehicle: answer and send out all texts messages before getting in the car. Put your phone on silent to avoid hearing anything that may alert you and prompt you. Try to get ready earlier to ensure all makeup is perfected before you takeoff. If you enjoy music, create a playlist on your phone/CD of songs you enjoy, so you can avoid skipping or trying to change the songs on your phone. Put your phone in the glove compartment box to avoid wanting to reach for it. Also, remember to keep the volume at reasonable level to hear any emergency vehicles. If you must look at others while talking, perhaps wait for conversation until you have arrived at the destination.

I am fortunate enough to have never been involved in an accident, a friend of mine has been, twice. Both were instances in which he failed to judge the speed of an oncoming car. While they did not include any distractions on either end, my friend failed to stay in his lane when merging without checking his mirrors and judging the speeds of the cars. He also failed to keep up with the speed of traffic, which in return caused the cars to swerve but still hit him because he was not observant nor paying the right of way to others on the road. These incidents could have been avoided if he paid attention during his driving lessons, and avoided obstructing traffic, he would not have to go through two cars withing four months.

A friend of mine uses her phone for directions often. I encourage her to let me give her the directions instead, that way she can pay attention to the road and the other vehicles around her. She finds it annoying that I do that, but she is not constantly having to look down at her phone or try to type or speak her location into the phone. She is also not distracted with incoming notifications when she is trying to look at the map. I encourage having a “co-pilot” in the car with you if you have difficulties maneuvering places, as for the passenger can help you see what you may not see, as well as helping you find your way. The “co-pilot” can also respond to messages if the driver feels that they are urgent or relevant to respond to.

To be a better, and safer driver on the road, I can put my purse in the seat behind me to avoid reaching for my phone when I drive. If I need it to help me get somewhere, I can mute all notifications and allow me to utilize the GPS without any distractions. I can keep up my habit of checking my mirrors to see what is around me while I cruise along the road. I can also pay attention when I am a passenger in a vehicle to make sure my friend or family member are driving safely and obeying driving laws. It is just as easy to prevent an accident by being safe and observant as it is to cause an accident.