Distractions Lead to Crashes

I’ll call my friend Zeke. It’s not his real name but I’m using it confidentiality. He turned 16 nearly the same time I turned 16. We both received our driver’s license the same month. That same month, we were driving down a fairly busy road with a lot of stoplights. He was looking at himself in the mirror as we approached a stoplight. Zeke didn’t realize the stoplight was changing and had turned red with cars stopping in front of us. I yelled “Zeke stop” but he wasn’t looking and panicked. As he looked up, he saw the cars. So, he swerved right through traffic and bounced off 2 cars in the process. Eventually, we hopped a curb and stopped in the Taco Bell drive-thru just missing the restaurant.

That’s when car accidents really became real for me. I never thought I would get into an accident and I didn’t realize the violence and damage in a car accident. Everything happens fast but also feels like slow-motion in some ways. The sound of cars hitting and the impact felt are intense. I play football and hitting those cars felt a strong impact like that even though it wasn’t at a high speed and I didn’t have the luxury of a helmet and pads. No one was hurt badly in our accident, but very easily could have had there been less aware drivers around us. It was scary. Zeke is a much better driver now. The accident made him realize how quickly things can get bad.

Obviously lessons of distracted driving and driver safety can’t be learned for everyone until after they have an accident. But, unfortunately, I don’t feel that there is a strong enough awareness.

I just turned 18 and have been a driver for 2 years. Since then I’ve been in 2 accidents as a passenger. The one I mentioned above as well as another as a passenger with my family. We sat at a stoplight and were rear-ended by a young kid my age going to the same basketball event as me. We assume he was texting or distracted. He never really slowed down for the light even though we were stopped there for at least 30 seconds. I’ve also been involved with many non-accidents. My dad told me to never assume people stop at lights when lights change. I’ve seen that happen at least 10-15 times when if I would’ve gone I would’ve been hit. My friends have been involved with several accidents as well. Some of them are their fault and some not. When I hear of an accident, it’s not really surprising anymore.

Thankfully, I’ve never had anyone I love seriously hurt in a car accident. But, I know of families and friends that have. It seems like every story involves some level of distraction. That’s both sad and scary.

I believe that we need to continue to grow in ways to increase driver’s education. There are messages that are out there and it does create a level of awareness. But, I believe that there needs to be a more systematic emphasis. I think it’s important to use various methods to emphasize and re-emphasize it. Building from the messages, it would be great to have more individuals share experiences. Additionally, it would be great for leaders and influencers to do the same by creating messages via social media. I think there needs to be more of an emphasis on tips for driving. My dad has given me some, but it would be great if that was spread in more methods. Beyond that, I think there should be encouragement for parents and guardians to emphasize that more frequently to their young and new drivers.

Increasing the awareness and finding multiple avenues to communicate these messages adds to visibility and recognition. By sharing more safety tips it leads to them being more likely to follow them. And, by having people that are influencing figures in their lives whether parents/guardians or social media type influencers it gives a stronger connection. I think these steps are crucial for continued driver safety.

At my school a few years ago, a girl was pulling out of her driveway onto a busy road. She was unaware of a truck speeding down the road. The truck hit the sister’s side. She died and the accident devastated multiple lives. It’s sad that a simple lack of awareness, and just a mistake can be so devastating. But, somehow we have to use more ways like I mentioned to get people to realize the dangers of distracted driving.

For me, I take the following steps: I put my cell phone in a locked middle console so I’m not tempted to access it. I make sure that all people riding with me wear a seat-belt (some don’t like to when riding in the back which surprises me). I also ensure that I’m aware of the conditions before I drive whether rain, snow, or visibility issues. I don’t drive too closely to cars in front of me. I make sure that I watch cross lanes when lights change before I go. I also get comfortable and watch my speed.

I tell people what I do and that I feel better knowing that I’m trying to be safe. It gives me peace. I also like to share stories of accidents or near accidents so hopefully that message sinks in to some degree. Awareness and more messaging have to be an emphasis for all of us.