Unfortunately, in my teenage years I have been involved in a total of 6 cars crashes. Although there were different circumstances for each accident, they were all cause by careless driving. During my first car accident I was a passenger. A little over a year ago I was driving with my best friend, and she pulled out of an intersection without properly looking if there was any oncoming traffic. Three seconds later a car t-boned us and hit our car on the passenger side where I was sitting. Both cars were totaled, but nobody sustained any injuries. That accident could have been devastating, and ever since that day I see diving differently. I even have a sense of fear comes along with the thought of driving because my eyes have been opened to the dangers that come along with driving.

Statistics show that 25 percent of 16 year olds are involved in a car crash in their first year of driving, and 12 percent of the fatal car crashes were caused by texting and driving. The problem in today’s age is that children are so involved in social media that they are placing a higher importance on technology than on road safety; and that needs to change. As time progresses it becomes easier for teenagers to get distracted while driving by social media, and parents need to do their part in preventing technology to put others life in danger. I believe the most efficient way to reduce dangerous driving habits is for parents to put a restriction on technology while being behind the driving wheel. A good majority of my friends have their phones set to when they are driving they cannot text or go on social media. The only way for them to contact someone is through Siri. Technology is improving and parents need to use that to their advantage. The restrictions set on the phone are a reminder to young adults about the dangers that come along with trying to multitask and use your phone and drive at the same time. Not only that, if kids believe that they are capable of texting and driving, it doesn’t allow them to take the chance and put others at danger. Parents should not give children the opportunity to learn to not to use technology after causing a crash, but instead do everything in their power to be proactive and prevent kids from even picking up their phone while driving.

Teenagers today are aware that safe driving is dangerous, but I feel as if they don’t understand the extent of how careless driving may not only be lifechanging for them, but for others on the road as well. One reason for this is because they are not properly educated on the subject. Schools take time out of the school year to inform kids on sex education, drug abuse, and mental health; but they have yet to educated students on the dangers of texting and driving which is a prominent problem in our world. If students are shown how dangerous using technology is by the presenting of statistics and telling of personal stories, it will make a bigger impact. Because texting a driving is no longer something their parents are just nagging them about, but a problem on a larger scale, a problem that the country feels they should dedicate time to ensure the understanding of new and potential drivers. The personal stories show the students that the careless driving caused by technology is not something that may cause a wreck and damage a car, but an action that puts their friends and other classmates on the roads in danger and can potentially take the life of someone they love. A proper education of safe driving can give young drivers in America a new perspective on driving.

Driver safety is crucial because with each generation drivers only become more careless. The more we educate drivers on the road, the safer it is for other drivers and passengers as well. If we truly care about the people who drive beside us and value their life as well as our own, everyone should devote their time to further their knowledge on drive safety; because the time spent leaning more could potentially save a life. Although the solutions I discussed won’t eliminate the problem of texting and driving completely, it can help reduce the amount of wrecks caused by careless driving one teenager at a time and ultimately make the roads a safer place for everyone.