Don’t Drive on Borrowed Time

Listening in horror to the words streaming from the victim’s mother who was standing next to my driver’s education teacher I was holding back tears. She was retelling her account of the misery that befell her family the night her daughter was killed by a driver who was texting and driving. Sadly, this has become a tread; distracting driving becoming synonymous with carnage and mayhem. For example, a car driven at 50 miles per hour is traveling approximately 80 feet per second. While it might only take a few seconds to change the music on a playlist, the reality is, the car has been barreling down the road, and the driver barely noticed. In fact, the driver may have missed a red light, a pedestrian, or even a car in their path.

Accidents occur when people text and drive, but accidents do happen from simpler distractions such as eating, adjusting the radio or temperature controls, talking with passengers, and even grooming. As I sat amongst my peers during the presentation, I was sickened by the images of destruction. Having to bear witness to the accident silenced the audience albeit the occasional sniffle. When it ended, we all quietly talking about how we would never text and drive or do anything that would distract us.

Fast forward to today and I see my friends driving distracted all the time. Most do not text or use their phones when they are driving but all are distracted in one way or the other, from retrieving directions off their phones to engaging in conversation with numerous passengers. Even loud music is distracting, especially when we have to scream to be heard. I believe kids need to be reminded of the damage that can happen when driving distracted.

My innovative solution is an app, called “DNTBNXT.” I saw firsthand how scared my fellow classmates were when confronted with the aftermath of an accident that violently took a peer from their family. The app functions upon entering a car, and will automatically replay a preselected short video clip and/or display a devastating image of an accident along with a prerecorded message from the driver’s family reminding them not to drive distracted. The only way to obtain compliance is to scare drivers straight. Reminding drivers of their loved ones and that they are the key to making roads safe is an important message to receive every time they get behind the wheel. This reinforcing imagery will bolster positive behavior. As drivers begin to acknowledge that their actions have consequences, they will habitually focus their attention on the “work” of driving a car.

I show restraint by not becoming distracted by stopping all on-going text conversations as soon as I climb behind the wheel. In addition, I end my text messages with a note that I will driving, and will contact them again when I reach my destination. More importantly, I do not starting new text conversation and my note tells others to wait until I stop driving to continue the conversation. While these suggestions appear rudimentary, and simple, they do alleviate my concern of breaking society’s text messaging etiquette. I feel comfortable waiting to when I stopped driving to text again.

Abstaining from driving distracted is possible and is easier to do with the awesome technology available to drivers. Today, drivers can use technologies that prevent them from texting and driving. These technologies bar telephone calls or text messages while a car is in motion effectively stopping the driver from using their phone. In fact, there is technology that is available that will block audio features, as well as track a car’s speed and sudden stops. Importantly, these tracking features also have the capability of sending text or email notifications to the parents of drivers, insurance companies, courts, and even employers in an effort to expose and correct dangerous driving behavior. These features do provide additional incentive not to drive distracted because if drivers want to avoid being penalized for the bad behavior caught by these technologies they have to drive more cautiously. Drivers may face the loss of their jobs, their privilege to drive, or increased automobile insurance rates when these features are installed in their cars.

As a former driver’s education student, I can attest that taking the course is eye opening. It is worth the time and money to learn the rules of the road along with the negative consequences of distracted driving. Taking a driver’s education class should be mandatory, and in fact, a required course for adults every two years. Reminding all drivers on a regular basis, that driving requires considerable attention is vital. Drivers must be reminded that they are not at home sitting on their couch texting friends but are behind the wheel of a two-ton machine capable of annihilating anyone in its path if they are not careful.