
Name: Victoria Moll
From: Tallahassee, FL
Votes: 0
Taking the High Road
4
I remember how excited I was when I woke up on my 16th birthday, ready to get my driver’s license. I woke up bright and early and was elated when I was licensed and ready to go. I remember my parents giving me the driving lecture, and how dangerous it was for me to be on my phone, but little did I know that even as a safe driver, texting and driving would change my life completely. A year later, I was driving and a lady who was texting and driving t-boned me. Not only was my car totaled, but the accident left me with 2 bulging disks and 1 herniated disk in my spinal cord, and scoliosis. This damage came with pinched nerves, numb hands, and an extraordinary amount of pain. For almost a year I was constantly in and out of physical therapy, having to quit marching band, and not even being able to carry my own backpack. The same thing happened a second time a year later, when I was sitting in my parked car, and a man who was texting and driving totaled my car from the back, and I had to start the recovery cycle all over again. My life is a testament to the dangers of texting while driving and screen usage as drivers in moving vehicles.
For over a year I was constantly in and out of physical therapy and taking pain medications. My freshman year of college, I had to drop a dance class because I could not do the rigorous movements that it required, which I was previously able and loved to do. I was not able to play my guitar, which I did previously on a weekly basis at my church because the weight of the guitar would put pressure on the pinched nerves, and I could not feel my hands. Additionally, I was on constant medications which made me feel sick, which would make me miss my classes, and I was not able to carry my own backpack with my laptop and school supplies.
Though I was not able to participate in marching band and the circus as I originally intended to, with a lot of hard work and determination, I was able to finish physical therapy. Although I still cannot do the things I originally intended because the injury is a long-sustained one, I was able to take dance classes again, go to the gym, and even play guitar again; and now I just get to live a normal college life and focus on my college career mostly unimpeded.
Texting and driving is dangerous for a number of reasons, but the most dangerous aspect is that when a driver is distracted, or focusing their primary attention on something else, in this case, a screen. This effect is known in psychological fields as “inattentional blindness”, or when an individual fails to notice or react to an unexpected stimulus in plain sight as a result of a lack of (or redirected) attention rather than any visual defects (Carpenter 2001). Due to this phenomenon, a driver who is texting or using other digital media is actually four times as likely to get into a car accident (Kaplan 2016).
This series of unfortunate accidents due to texting and driving can be curbed by essentially eliminating cell-phone usage in the car altogether. Although hands-free options are not completely effective, because they are not exempt from the inattentional blindness phenomenon, they are significantly safer, and help curb some of the compulsive phone-checking behavior.
Additionally, laws like Florida statute Section 316.305, allow law enforcement to stop motor vehicles and issue citations to people that are texting and driving. The consequence of citation or possible jail time curbs phone usage on the road.
Other phenomena related to distracted driving or inattentional blindness include driving while tired or emotionally distressed. As a personal measure of safety, I do not drive when I am overly tired or emotionally distressed because they can both cause distractions which can lead to danger. Driving while tired is a mistake that is very common amongst college students, though it can simply be curbed my calling a ride share or taxi, or just staying home. Furthermore, driving while in emotional distress can cause major distractions because one’s mental capacity is going to emotional processing which reduces alertness on immediate surroundings.
One specific driving habit which I have sought to reduce is driving with loud music. Though it is fun in the moment, this has also been proven to cause inattentional blindness due to sensory overload. Loud music causes drivers to miss the sounds of the sirens of emergency vehicles and other car horns. Driving with loud music can often lead to multitasking which is caused by singing and dancing around while driving. I have self-imposed volume limit while I am driving in order to keep this habit in check and commit to driver safety.
Although it is really difficult to convince people of the dangers of texting and driving, it still remains a highly disastrous phenomenon, affecting one in 20 drivers (Kaplan 2016). Texting and driving, however, is a behavior that can be curbed, and even hopefully stopped completely with the help of hands-free alternatives, and traffic citations and monitoring. All in all, taking the high road when it comes to driving is more than literal, it means putting safety over selfishness, and creating a safer environment for everyone.
Works Cited
Carpenter, Siri. “Sights Unseen.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, Apr. 2001, www.apa.org/monitor/apr01/blindness.
“Why Texting While Driving Is So Bad.” Orlando Health – One of Central Florida’s Most Comprehensive Healthcare Networks, www.orlandohealth.com/content-hub/why-texting-while-driving-is-so-bad#:~:text=Cell%20Phone%20Use%20While%20Driving%20Increases%20the%20Risk%20of%20an%20Accident&text=Texting%20while%20driving%20is%20even,the%20event%20of%20an%20accident.