There is a time and place for text and face!

Liam Barbeau
404-698-8938

There is a time and place for text and face!

Every year over 38,000 people die in car crashes primarily due to driving under the influence, phone use while driving, distracted driving and a lack of driver education. Personally, I have been involved in two car accidents since obtaining my driver’s license in 2018. One incident was unavoidable and not my fault and the other collision was all my fault. I knew from my time in the classroom and with a private driving instructor that defensive driving and driver education was very important. However, my real-life experiences made me really stop and think about taking driving more seriously because one simple mistake can be the difference between life and death for yourself and others in the car or on the road. 

On the way to school in 2019, I failed to yield to oncoming traffic during inclement weather and caused an accident. Although I was grateful that everyone involved in the accident wasn’t injured, the other car had struck my vehicle just a few feet away from the passenger seat where my younger brother was sitting. This woke me up to the importance of driving and the caution which needs to be exercised at all times, especially when driving in difficult weather conditions. After the accident, I took an additional defensive driving course which I felt was helpful and should also be a requirement for anyone under the age of 18 found at fault in an accident. If more people on the road understand and follow the laws, fewer accidents will occur which should result in less deaths caused by driving. 

With technology advancing and phone apps becoming a part of our everyday lives, I feel that new drivers should be required to have an app on their phone that automatically disables texting and/or facetime while driving. I have witnessed many of my friends and family members use their phone in this manner while driving even though they know the risks associated with that activity. Fatalities involving texting while driving comprised 9% of all fatal crashes nationwide, this translates to over 3,000 deaths prevented with this disable feature. Most drivers recognize that it is dangerous to use their cell phone while driving but still engage in the reckless behavior from time to time. It is imperative that we be proactive in looking out for our friends, family members and teammates by calling them out when we see them driving irresponsibly. I also feel that it is important to refrain from calling or facetiming someone when you know that person is driving, like if they have just left your house and headed home. My generation was essentially born with a phone in our hand, so it is important to support one another and be sure that we keep each other safe, so if you call a friend on facetime and they are driving, let them know that you want to see them again face to face so you will wait until they are in a safe place.