Name: Zach Burge
From: Centennial, Colorado
Votes: 0
Learning
how to drive is one of the coolest and most freeing experiences we
have as teenagers. The
problem is, we are so excited to get our driver
license that we diminish the importance of learning how to drive
safely and want to just go out there and drive.
If
people took the time to learn how to properly drive safely and learn
the rules of the road, the number of incidents would decrease
rapidly.
The
National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving
leads to 1.6 million crashes each
year.
Nearly 390,000 injuries occur each year from
accidents
caused by texting while
driving meaning 1 out of every 4 car
accidents in
the United States is caused
by texting and
driving. Just keeping people off their phones while on the road could
stop 25% of all car crashes in the United States. This could mean
implementing small changes such as laws that require drivers to have
their phones off, or even more drastic changes like adding mandatory
“Do Not Disturb” settings into phones. These changes would allow
drivers to stay focused on the road and not worry about any
notifications being sent, therefore reducing the number of collisions
on the road.
I
have been in a few car accidents, though fortunately none of them are
noteworthy. However, every time I had that experience, it could have
easily been avoided through careful, focused driving. The accidents I
experienced did not cause injuries or deaths, but they were scary
nonetheless, especially when I could tell that the driver was not
paying full attention to the road.
A
lot of these accidents were not from being on Instagram or Snapchat,
but rather from the driver looking at the map on their phone or
attempting to text someone. This can be easily avoided by simply
having the passenger look at the map or respond to the text for them.
As for my own driving, I can turn my phone off and put it in my
pocket or even keep it out of sight while I am driving to avoid the
temptation. Also, informing people of the risk they are taking by
being on their phones is a good way to prevent accidents. After all,
it is better to be safe than sorry.
