Is the Distraction More Important Than Your Life?

Is the Distraction More Important Than Your Life?

By Brooke Maritt

Like many others in this world, I often find myself lost in thought. This happens quite often while I am driving. I have also experienced the occasional time where I have arrived at my destination and was unaware of how I actually reached my destination because I had zoned out through the entire drive. These are dangerous conditions to be driving in because my main focus is not on the road and the drivers around me. Driving while being distracted can place me as well as the other drivers on the road at risk of an accident. It only takes a split second for an accident to occur. If I am not being an attentive driver, I am not being a safe driver.

I remember back when I took drivers ed in high school. I was flooded with information over the few weeks I attended the class. As a new driver, I took everything written in the book and discussed in class very seriously. Driving was new, intimidating, and scary. Nowadays I do not find driving to be as intimidating or scary. I have had several years of experience that has risen my level of confidence. Unfortunately, I believe I may have become too comfortable with my driving. I often find myself hopping in my car and begin driving, whether I am distracted by my own thoughts, passengers, changing music, or something else. By doing this, I forget to be cautious. As a driver, one of my responsibilities is to be wary of others on the road. It is very important for me to take that responsibility serious as my actions could be detrimental to someone’s life if I do not.

It is so important for new and young drivers as well as older and experienced drivers to continue to be cautious and try and avoid being distracted while driving. Those distractions are not worth risking your life for. I forget that a serious accident does not always occur while going fast. I could easily get in an accident while going slow and being distracted. I plan to minimize distractions while I drive to prevent any risk of being involved in an accident.

I think drivers ed should be offered as a class to all students in high school rather than just those who plan to get their license. The reason being it will reach more students and help bring awareness to the rules, regulations, and dangers of the road. Providing information to young and inexperienced drivers about distracted driving is vitally important to help reduce accidents. Many young drivers as well as older drivers tend to use their cell phones while driving. This causes many accidents, and a majority of those accidents have either taken or ruined lives. The distractions are not worth a life. They can wait. Pulling over to handle a situation is much smarter than continuing to drive distracted.