Distracted Driving

Heaven Varner

Heavenvarner7@gamil.com

770-568-7575

I will be attending Georgia State University in the fall of 2020.

1972 Winding Creek Ln SW

Marietta GA, 30064

First Steps Scholarship Essay

I turned 16 and I was ready to go straight to the DMV, nothing was stopping me because I was ready. Months of practice and my parents’ mini heart attacks and it all paid off. I was ready. Ready to take on the world or just drive to school but it felt like the same thing at the time. I practiced and practiced and BOOM passed the test first try. Like millions of kids every year I was ready to drive and go anywhere and everywhere. Ready to hang out with friends and be in charge of my own destination time. Yet, the thing most kids don’t realize is the amount of responsible and focus it takes to operate such powerful machinery.

Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a motor vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to follow the established road and traffic laws in the location they are driving. The verb ‘ to drive ‘ in origin means “to force to move, to impel by physical force”. As someone very knowledge one said “with great power comes great responsibility”. Car accidents are the leading cause of death in children at the age of 18 and a great deal of accidents are highly avoidable. Distracted driving is quite literally killing people every day and when I first got my license it wasn’t clear to me how many bad habits can be created while driving a car especially when my parents weren’t in the car with me. I very vividly remember the first time I was on the open road by myself and my playlist ended so there I was riding in silence with 10 more minutes to go in the ride. Now I was faced with a choice, ride the rest of the way in silence or take a split second to look at my phone and change the playlist with 3 simple clicks. Now, I know what you are thinking the right answer is obvious, right? However, how many people do we both know that would very quickly changed that playlist because it is “harmless”? This example is the problem and it doesn’t end with a simple playlist ending. Bad habits get worse and next thing you know you’re plugging in GPS directions while you are making a right hand turn. Or turning up your music so loud you can’t hear the ambulance behind you. Or maybe even riding with so many passengers that a so called simple sing-a-long is limiting your hearing of what is going on around you. We are all subject to being better driving, even me! My bad habits include changing the playlist, using GPS navigation, occasionally picking up the phone, and maybe even eating my favorite candy bar. These bad habits develop quickly, people pick up the phone the first time and think “well I didn’t get in an accident so this is okay” but a year or two down the road that same bad habit could result in the death of an 18 year old kid. We should all be working hard to change the statistics on driving accidents and do our part to make the roads safer.

A few months after I turned 18, I was on my way home from school and it was a regular day and I didn’t think much of it when my playlist ended once again. I had been safely changing my playlist for 2 years then all of a sudden a regular day turned into a horrible wake up call. I was riding along and took a split second to look at the playlist I wanted to select I was going 35 mile per hour and remember having control of the car. But then all of a sudden I didn’t and I hit the side walk next to the Elementary School I went to for 5 years. Kids walked that side walk at all times of the day going to and leaving from the school. Many kids that I would babysit even walked that sidewalk to play basketball at a friend’s house. I walked away with a flat tire and angry parents but the reality of the situation is I could have taken a child’s life and that is something I would never be able to live with. My mom and I then sat down to think about all the way I could be a better driver and her and my father could be better drivers too.

The daily practices that help me the most when I get behind the wheel of a car are to make sure I get GPS directions before I move the car out of park, then based on the GPS arrival time I create a playlist that is at least 10 minutes longer then the estimated driving time. I also decided to go in my cars radio settings and put a cap of the volume so I can still be attentive to other cars on the road and hear what is going on around me. My parent and I implemented these rules on our cars and we have been accident free ever since and I encourage you and your family to sit down and things of your own daily practice that could help you avoid an accident before you have to have a horrible wake up call.