Name: Marie Madison Denayer
From: Vacaville, CA
Votes: 0
Government
Involvement in Distracted Driving
Over
the years, we’ve all either seen or witnessed the tragic events
that have occurred due to distracted driving accidents and the public
has done many things to further prevent this from happening. But the
real question is, how was the government involved and what else can
WE do?
For
some basic background info, distracted driving can be anything from
using your cellphone while driving, to applying some lipgloss while
looking at the side mirror. Unfortunately, most teen drivers and even
some adults aren’t educated enough on the subject. When we think of
a “distration”, nowadays most people automatically assume that
our generation is easily distracted by electronics like our
smartphones. And therefore, it is the reason that we become
distracted or unsafe drivers. However, there are so many other things
that can act as distractions, which increases the probability of
someone getting into an accident by ten times.
Now
government has already taken some measures to reduce the number of
deaths related to unsafe or distracted driving. They have passed laws
in several states around the country to inforce penalties on those
who are caught using electronics and are under the influence while
driving. But with 3,300 people still dying from distracted driving
accidents every year, it’s hard not to wonder whether the
government is doing enough to TRULY enforce and educate the people on
the issue at hand.
As
people of this country, the next steps for us should simply be the
focus on PREVENTION. The government can only do so much and they
cannot control the public’s lack of understanding the situation at
hand. It is up to us, the people, to be aware of a few things:
-
What
can also be considered “distracted driving behavior” (other than
using electronics and substance abuse while driving) -
We
need to be educating the new generations of drivers to come as well
as more adults who aren’t aware -
Although
“accidents” happen it, the distracted driving itself is always a
choice, therefore completely preventable
Though
I’ve never experienced losing family or friends from a distracted
driving incident, my club in high school focused on educating our
fellow students on the subject. A lot of the times giving
presentations, I heard stories of other students that had experienced
losing loved ones because of it. It further motivated me to act as an
advocate for prevention in any way that I could. My Friday Night Live
club created several public service annoncements (PSA) concerning the
dangers of distracted driving and what we as students can do. It is
with pride and honor to say that we had one of our 30 second PSAs
play at the local Brenden Theatres here in Vacaville with the movie
previews.
As
an individual, I intend to make my loved ones aware of the dangers of
the “choice” of distracted driving behavior. When giving people
rides in my car, I hope to eliminate any and all potential
distractions to ensure my safety and the safety of those in the
vehicle with me.
