The Text Can Wait

As someone who has been a witness to a texting while driving accident involving one of my friends, I understand the importance of advocating for safe driving practices and sharing my experiences.

It was a fall day in the middle of the cross country season and one of my friends was falling slightly behind (I will call her Jo for privacy reasons). Jo was rarely seen behind the group, so we thought this was strange. She was always out front, running with her head held high. That day was different. One of my other friends and I ran across the street in front of the school and entered the campus. Just as we were about to finish our run, we heard the sound. It was a terrible, traumatizing sound of brakes skidding and a car being smashed. The person I was running with and I were far enough away that we didn’t see the car run into Jo, but we heard the noise and watched someone run up to our coach telling him what had just happened. He dropped the clipboard he was holding onto the track and started sprinting toward the cross walk. This is when I knew something was wrong.

One of our other coaches filled us in and my friend and I started crying as the sirens approached closer and closer. We felt guilty that she was alone, worried about what would happen to her, and terrified that something we had all feared was actually occurring. An hour or so later, we all were waiting impatiently at the track to hear if she was okay. Our coach told us that she was still conscious when he got there and the first thing she said was “I didn’t look. It was my fault”. He also told us that there was a huge crack in the windshield where her head hit the car. She was taken to the hospital to make sure she didn’t have a concussion. Luckily, she had no lasting injuries. This was a miracle, considering how fast the car was going and how hard her head hit.

We found out a couple weeks after the incident that the woman who hit her was texting while driving. This story serves as an example of one that should be shared with others.

Safe and undistracted driving can save precious lives. Something that I can do to improve driving safety around my community is to share Jo’s story. Although it is hard to talk about, it is worth it if it can make someone think twice about picking up a phone behind the wheel. Knowing and witnessing what happened to Jo, I always slow down before a pedestrian crosswalk and don’t even think about texting while driving. I couldn’t imagine the guilt and regret that the woman who hit Jo must feel and I never want to experience that. If a driver is educated on the impacts and harm of distracted driving, they will be less likely to take a risk.

Another way to prevent distracted driving is to use technology to benefit safety. Although this may seem counterintuitive, there are a lot of new inventions that prevent diversion from the road. For example, many iphones now have the feature called “Do Not Disturb While Driving” which mutes any messages or calls when the car is moving. This is especially helpful because a driver would have no reason to pick-up their phone if they don’t know they have something to respond to. In addition, the features of Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay in the majority of cars these days can allow hands and eyes to always be alert while driving, even if the driver is talking to someone.

Drivers must be cognizant of the responsibility that getting behind the wheel comes with. It is not just about saving your own life, but lives around you.