
Name: Kylie Sarrazin
From: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Votes: 0
Better, Safer Driving
Driving is a huge part of any American’s life and the threshold for teens to turn into adults. So why isn’t it taken more seriously? 33% of teenage deaths occur because of car accidents. There are many reasons for this as it is so easy to get distracted while driving, the biggest threat being texting while driving. The laws against this act, in the state of California, are not nearly as strict as they should be as most people can’t be pulled over for being on the phone, the penalties are low, and the younger generation does not understand the dangers of texting and driving.
Learning about California’s safe driving laws will allow us to see what can be done to improve them. The laws will allow a wireless device to be used in hands-free mode, but otherwise, any cell phone use is not allowed. This means a phone must be on speaker and no texting is allowed. For people under eighteen, the rules are even stricter, as they can’t use a phone at all, including hands-free mode. These laws are alright, but the real issue is with the penalties for them. The police can pull people over if they have a phone in their hand and they can issue them a fine. Upon a first offense, there is a twenty-dollar base fine, likely to total to one hundred fifty dollars, and upon second offense there is a fifty dollar base fine, likely to total two hundred fifty dollars. Before I started minors could not use their phones while driving at all, but they can not be pulled over for this. The only way they would get fined is if they were causing another offense, got pulled over, and the police happened to notice they were using their phone as well as breaking another law. These laws and punishments could be improved to make sure no one is distracting themselves while driving.
To create a better and safer tomorrow, these laws must be improved. While the laws are good, in that they allow police officers to pull people over if they are not using hands-free mode, this seldom ever happens. The first idea that comes to mind might be to pull more people over for visibly looking at their phone whether it be music, GPS, or just texting, but this is not the best solution. Cops could not realistically pull over everyone who was on their phone, it would be a waste of personnel. Therefore, a better idea would be to educate people about the pre-existing laws and follow up on them to make sure they are following them. When teenagers first get their permits they are quizzed on if they are allowed to use their phones or not, but the phone law education stops there. Most people know they are not supposed to be on their phone while driving but don’t see it as a risk or serious issue. So if people can not have self-control while in the car I propose phones should be able to detect when someone is in a car and not allow themselves to be used, except for calling 911. There should be a law that requires all phones to have this feature so no one can fiddle around at a red light or try to look at a map while driving. All hands-free phone activities could still be accessible so people could still make phone calls and listen to a map, but all commands to do this are voice-activated. We are already so far in the future that most cars already have this. In fact, a more mundane version of a phone shutting off while its owner is driving already exists. In the phone’s settings there is a do not disturb mode that silences all text messages and calls. This mode would be a way to check up on people and make sure they are following the law and not endangering other drivers. In the instance where someone does still use their phone and get pulled over the fines should most definitely be higher. Using a phone while driving could cause someone to die, therefore whoever is distracting themselves on the road should be highly punished. By implementing new laws the roads will be made a safer place for everyone.
In conclusion, the current laws in California are pretty good but need some changes. While police have the power to pull people over, for having a phone in hand, there are not enough of them to solve this problem. The best solution would be to make a law for phones to hold their drivers responsible and turn themselves off so the temptation of texting was never there to begin with. Implementing this law would create a safer California and cause fewer people to die from distracted drivers.
Sources: https://www.drivinglaws.org/sb1613.php
https://teendriving.aaa.com/CA/supervised-driving/licensing-and-state-laws/