You Are Lethal

You Are Lethal

It feels as if your world stops the first time you drive by yourself with a license. Unfortunately, everybody else’s worlds continue to turn, and, inevitably, your phone buzzes with a text message from someone. It is so ingrained in our brains to check that text, to answer back right away, that you can’t help but look down at your phone, and, in that moment, you have turned yourself lethal.

Think: did you ever get a question on your permit test about texting while driving? While learning to drive, how many parents/ instructors regularly warned you against looking at your phone? In a world so dependent on electronic communication, can we really be surprised that texting while driving is such a problem?

I believe that the best way to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is to eliminate the temptation created by a phone buzzing with new texts. While educating new drivers of the risks of distracted driving is important, it is often the experienced drivers who are confident enough in their driving skills to use their phones regularly. The current campaigns to end texting while driving have done some good, but we are still far from the end of distracted driving. The obvious solution would be to implement driverless cars nationwide, as the cars would be able to communicate with each other and there would be no chance of driving distractions. However, until that happens, I believe we must embrace a policy of education and elimination.

First, we must educate drivers young and old of the frightening facts of driver fatalities. I have had my license for over a year, and I had never read about the staggering number of deaths that occur each year as a result of driving. Bringing these statistics to the attention of people across the country would encourage many drivers to make safer choices.

Next, we need to eliminate the temptation of checking your phone altogether. This can be done by silencing your ringer/ notifications, turning off your phone completely, or even using settings in your phone to send automatic replies when you are driving. This will also allow parents to set a good example of driving without distractions for their children who will be driving in the future. Obviously, the fastest way to end distracted driving is to get rid of the main distraction and set a precedent for future drivers to follow.

It is often the case that drivers do not know the awful power and immense responsibility that they hold every time they step behind a steering wheel. Whether driving the smallest Smart Car or the largest Semi-Truck, any distracted driver poses a threat to the world around him/her. Drivers must be educated about the risks and the distraction itself must be eliminated if we ever hope to end distracted driving in America. Because every time you check your phone while driving, even if just for a moment, you are lethal.