Demolishing Distraction

Demolishing Distraction

By Bailey Hanners

Distracted driving is a prevalent problem amongst teens, and with only a few years of experience operating a vehicle, the consequences resulting from texting and driving are often deadly. My home state requires teen drivers to complete driver’s education before obtaining a driver’s license but distracted driving continues to be a major problem. One effective way that my school has encouraged safe driving habitats is through the use of the Safe 2 Save app. I was introduced to this app at our summer student council workshop last year and instantly my fellow student council officers and I felt that this would be successful in our community. Safe 2 Save is an app that you turn on while driving. As long as you don’t attempt to access any other apps while on the road, the app will reward the user with points. These virtual points can be redeemed at local businesses & chain restaurants that are partnered with the app. Users can earn free food, drinks, desserts & exclusive merchandise at no cost for simply choosing to drive undistracted by social media. This opened my eyes to an effective way of preventing texting while driving. Once we returned in autumn, student council officers made announcements at lunch each day to download Safe 2 Save and provided students with pamphlets and an opportunity to ask questions about the app. Almost immediately, Safe 2 Save took over our school, and though downloading the app is a good start, getting people to consistently use it was a challenge. To further encourage students to drive without distractions, student council hosted a competition involving the app. Students were able to compete against each other for two weeks to see who could earn the most points. The person who drove undistracted the most was rewarded with free chick-fil-a. This simple challenge encouraged hundreds of College Park students to put their phones down and focus their eyes on the road. For many teenagers, the threat of danger seems so incomprehensible effectively making educational videos and scolding talks from parents and teachers obsolete. This app is a huge motivator for young people because almost all high school students can relate to wanting an easy way to earn free food. Safe 2 Save makes driving undistracted rewarding for the user and increases not only their own safety, but also the other drivers around them. Frequently, teenagers are turned off by the idea of completely powering down their phones or putting them in an inaccessible location due to the fear of missing their parent’s calls or being unable to navigate in an unfamiliar area without their phones. Luckily, this app allows users to play their music and can be connected to navigation apps, such as Google Maps and Waze, without penalizing their points. Safe 2 Save has been a game-changer for students in our school and has the ability to greatly reduce dangerous driving habits, like texting or using social media while driving, amongst teenagers.