Phones and Driving Don’t Mix

Mia Stevenson

DMV Essay Submission

November 19, 2020

Phones and Driving Don’t Mix

Facts are that most teenagers are addicted to their phones. Endless scrolling through social media is the main form of entertainment now. A small buzz is so exciting some teenages feel “phantom buzzes” when there is not a notification on their phone. But how are they convinced to put the screen away while driving. Well it should be easy right? That’s common sense? Apparently that’s not the case.

On Apple phones, the Siri voice recognition has helped me while driving when needing to send a message. I don’t have to touch my phone, or take my eyes off of the road even for a second. A simple “hey siri” does the trick. Most newer cars also have a function where phone calls are set up through the car’s speaker, and some even have their own systems that will read text messages out loud for you. During driver’s education we are told that if we have a passenger, they should send text messages for you. No matter what is told to a person obsessed with their phone, that obsession will not go away so easy. For some people, not much will prevent a person from looking at a phone that buzzes.

I have personally never been involved in an accident, but my best friend, who’s family is my family’s, cousin was almost killed in a drunk driving accident. He was the one who was sober, but the other driver did not have bad injuries like he did. As a result of that we don’t do anything that could risk ourselves on the road. All of my friends stay off their phones while driving. In Iowa there are electrical billboards on the interstate that say the number of traffic deaths so far this year, that is a good tactic in keeping drivers mindful of the power they have in their hands when they are on the road.

With the world at our fingertips, it is so easy to unlock a screen with face recognition and forget about the actual environment around us. Most of us have a playlist we can turn on while we’re getting ready for school or work, one that we can sing and dance to to occupy our thoughts. Some of us have a really great podcast we love listening to that we could easily turn on while we drive. Sometimes the appeal of the screen really is just to occupy our mind and with our own music or podcast our mind stays occupied while our eyes and most of our brain can be on the road.

Once you find out what works best for you, for me personally it switches between a throwback playlist and my favorite podcast, it is really easy to forget about our phones. When I am on the road, I know I am driving a car that my step dad pays for. I know that my insurance will go up with an accident or a ticket. I do not want to pay more money for personal things myself, so I would not put that burden on anyone else. Cars are expensive, especially to someone so new into the money world, and a lot of teenagers’ parents are kind enough to get them one. Abusing what was given to you out of the kindness of someone elses is heart is never okay.

Addictions to the small screens in our pocket is a growing problem in all generations, and we as a society are not going back. We have to adapt, and learn how to incorporate those issues into our daily lives. Using a phone will driving is a known risk for everyone on the roads safety, not just the person on their phone. If a person is willing to give their life for your phone, good for them, but no one else on the road is.