Distracted Driving

Dangerous Driving:

As a young driver, I frequently look at the roads to make sure I am staying in my lane. If I take my eyes off the road for even a few seconds to look at my phone or adjust the radio, I might miss that stop sign or not notice that car pulling out in front of me. When my parents drive the car, I glance around at the different cars to see what the other drivers are doing. Some drivers have their phones in their hand or are too busy eating food. Many of the drivers I notice are distracted. I get worried when other drivers do not pay attention to the road.

As a young driver, I had found driving lessons extremely helpful. The driving instructor showed me the proper way to turn the wheel and let it slide back to me. He helped me make my turns smoothly and efficiently. If I did not have an instructor to teach me and just relied on my parents, they might not have caught everything that the instructor did. I believe that driving education will greatly reduce the number of deaths on the road because more drivers know what they are doing. My instructor was kind, but he was also firm and made sure I knew where I went wrong, so I could perform better next time I drove. Every young driver should invest in driving education.

However, I want to focus on a bigger problem that most drivers face. Texting while driving is a dangerous activity. This is a major form of distracted driving. There are other forms of distracted driving like eating while driving, drinking while driving, and feeling exhausted behind the wheel that lead to death, but my essay will be focusing on the technology side of distracted driving. Taking your eyes off the road for a minute can mean hitting the kid who walked into the street to get their ball. You might get into an accident and potentially kill someone because you were not paying attention.

Thankfully, there are some well thought-out laws that prohibit texting while driving. The state I reside in, Kentucky, makes it clear that it is a crime to text while drive. According to drivinglaws.org, “For all Kentucky drivers, it’s illegal to use a personal communication device to read, write, or send a text message while operating a vehicle that’s in motion. The prohibition includes regular text messages, instant messages, and email.” “A texting ticket will cost the driver $25 fine for a first violation and a $50 fine for second or subsequent violations. The conviction will also add three points to the motorist’s driving record.”

According to yourmechanic.com, “Drivers under 18 are not allowed to use a cell phone at all, handheld or hands free. Drivers over the age of 18 are allowed to use a cell phone, but no texting as it is illegal for all ages.” There are a few exceptions to this law according to mccoyandsparks.com. “This law has a few exclusions, though, including using a GPS device, entering a phone number, or selecting a contact to make a call, making contact for emergency services, reporting illegal activities, or seeking medical help.” It is clear that the Commonwealth of Kentucky tries to crack down on people who text while they are driving. Though these efforts most likely cut down on crashes due to distracted driving, we are still seeing a large amount of car crashes on the roads. This is a matter that should be dealt with if it keeps affecting our society.

Now that we have a better understanding of texting while driving and the laws in place to prevent this activity. we can formulate a well-thought-out solution to this issue. We need to take drastic actions if this problem continues to plague our young drivers. This matters to me because people my age are dying each day because of something they can control. These are not unavoidable deaths. While I nor any of my loved ones have had no personal experience with car accidents, this is still a problem that I care about. My family drives responsibly on the roads and abstains from reckless driving, but I still want to make a difference in the world.

Steps the community should take to combat this is to make teens more of aware of this hidden danger. We should make this a top priority in driving schools to teach new drivers about. We should talk about this issue in school on certain days to enforce good driving ethics. We should put statistics of texting and driving on electronic billboards along the interstates. Honestly, I believe that many people ignore the warnings of texting and driving either because they are ignorant of the repercussions, or they do not think that an accident could happen to them. They assume that taking their eyes off the road for just a second to check their messages will not do any harm, but it could mean the difference between life and death.

That is why educating our young drivers is the primary way we can reduce deaths caused by texting and driving. I sincerely believe that our education system is not informing the future of America of how to properly operate a vehicle and what things not to do while behind the wheel. If schools would have even just one school day each semester completely dedicated to promoting safe driving habits, I would venture to say that we could drastically decrease the number of youths injured or killed in car crashes.

We can make a change. We can prevent teens from crashing. Though the laws in place are making a difference, we need to do more. Through our community’s combined efforts, we can stop people from texting and driving. Parents, teachers, and friends should all reach out to young drivers and make sure they are using wise driving ethics on the road. We should do this to save lives. Our goal should be to preserve the lives of our teens and make sure they make wise decisions while driving.

I will driver safer and avoid texting while driving. I will be vigilant on the roads. I want this scholarship to further my goals of continuing my journey through college and becoming a pastor. I plan to work hard and be a leader wherever I am. As a pastor, I will promote good driving habits at my church through youth awareness meetings. I will teach the younger generation in my church on how to be a safe driver through personal interactions or through a church-wide fundraiser where the proceeds go to a charity that helps people who lost loved ones due to a distracted driving-related incident. Rachel Dyet once said, “The text says, ‘See you soon,’ but you never do.”

Sources:

https://www.mccoyandsparks.com/blog/ky-distracted-driving-laws/

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/cell-phones-and-texting-distracted-driving-laws-in-kentucky

https://www.drivinglaws.org/resources/kentucky-text-cell-phone-laws.org#:~:text=For%20all%20Kentucky%20drivers%2C%20it%27s,contains%20a%20number%20of%20exceptions.