The Real Cost

The Real Cost

My friends laugh uncontrollably in the backseat over a meme that they found while scrolling through Instagram. I fight the urge to turn around and see what’s happening. It is a battle I have with myself – a test of my will. Do I whip around to quickly glance at the screen or do I keep my eyes firmly focused on the road in front of me?

Distractions are all around us but never are they as dangerous as they are when we are driving. It is not always the chime of your cell phone. It could be music blaring from the speakers, distractions from children in the backseat, or trying to multitask. Even things as simple as looking down to change the radio station have led to accidents on slippery roads. One of the most dangerous diversions, which is often overlooked, is a lack of sleep. Being sleep deprived can be the equivalent of driving drunk and yet many people continue to take those risks, simply because they are unaware of the extreme danger it poses.

Every single driver, regardless of their age and experience, falls prey to these distractions. I have watched older family members speed down the highway to get to work on time while checking their phone for the password to join a meeting. I have heard stories of teenagers recording themselves driving at breakneck speeds on back roads to impress their friends. They all felt like they were invincible and nothing would come of their actions.

But, deaths from distracted driving happen every day. If more people were reminded about the shockingly large toll this behavior takes on our society, perhaps the death count would not be so high. Although drivers ed is crucial for beginners, it is also important to create refresher lessons that drivers would have to go through every 10-20 years to get their license renewed. Oftentimes, older drivers will take greater risks because they believe that their experience has honed their reflexes to prevent accidents.

But there is no undo button in life. Once you make a choice, you have to live with the consequences forever, no matter how bad they are. It is never just your life on the line but all of the other innocent drivers and passengers on the road with you. By choosing to drive distracted, we are putting everyone at risk.

I make the choice to keep my eyes firmly focused in front – I know the cost of looking back. I can always look at the post later but I will never be able to take back any disastrous consequences of driving distracted. Without the constant lessons ingrained in my memory on the dangers of driving while preoccupied, would I have made the same choice? I’m not sure, which is why it is so important to educate the public of the unnecessary risks we take every day unknowingly.