How do we reduce dangerous driving habits particularly in young teens in the 21st century?

In the 21st century, we have achieved many technological advancements. Phones have now become a need in order to function in society, but in some cases, it can be a distraction. In the case of driving the phone itself is not the problem, it is us. When the topic of texting while driving comes up it is often focused on the phone being a distraction. So in order to counter this problem, new technology began to emerge in cars such as, “Hands-free mode”. Texting while driving is a serious problem that can endanger the life of the driver, other drivers or, pedestrians. This is not a simple issue. People know it is dangerous to text while driving, the problem is humans will do something dangerous, and when they get away with it once they are bound to do it again. I think in order to avoid this issue, there needs to be training before anyone can get a license. 10 hours of class explaining the rules of the road is not enough for people to be prepared for different situations on the road. Listening and doing are two different things. People need actual experience in order to be proficient. Doctors take years of school before they are even allowed to go into residency. And medical school does not use the ‘good faith’ method when it comes to the amount of education and experience they have received. At the DMV the amount of driving a person does is represented in the driving log, there is no proof that a person actually did it. The reason I am putting such an emphasis on learning is that bad habits usually form as a result of not learning something correctly. If a person is not there to constantly correct you, you are going to continue the same habit. This is why at the beginning when I was first learning how to drive my parents signed me up for a driving course. Someone would come to my house and then I would drive the car for 2 hours. It was the best thing my parents could have done because my bad habits were corrected. 

In order to combat the texting and driving issue in our fast-paced world, we need proper training early on before the small incidents become big habits. Never before in our history were there so many distractions such as social media and texting. Another problem is the cultural environment we have created. The pressure to be keeping up with the trends, staying on top of messages, checking emails daily. This creates an environment that forces students to constantly need to check their phones. Ever since NTI online learning has become a prevalent tool that teachers now use regularly. It is great that teachers are now using technology as a tool for learning, but we cannot deny the increase in the need for technology creates unnecessary distractions. Just like in the classroom, in the car, it is so easy to pick up the phone just to check one message or go from google classroom to TikTok. But unlike in the classroom, this decision could mean life or death. Especially for a person inexperienced in driving. 

The best advice I can give to make the phone and the things inside it, not a distraction, is to just put it away and out of sight. It’s best to use the philosophy out of sight out of mind. With technology, it will always evolve, and the distraction is only going to get worse. The best solution is to teach teens the importance of putting the phone out of sight while driving and demonstrate the importance of distraction-free driving. It is not enough to just tell teens not to do something because as a teen I know for a fact most people will continue to do it anyway. Some people only follow the law when someone is watching, some people simply have no reason to do the right thing if no one is there to hold them accountable. Talking about the danger is not enough incentive to stop people from doing something. Some people need personal experience for the lesson to be learned. Which is why education is so important, having it instilled into children’s minds that distraction free driving puts them out of danger will influence their future choices. It is similar to how the campaigns against smoking worked. They showed people who were dying because of nicotine addiction, but they did not just show people who smoked. They showed people with holes in their throats, tubs connected to them. And they continue to show them as a warning to young teens the consequences of smoking. While this has not stopped everyone from smoking it has aided in the decrease in young smoker. I believe the same could be done with safe driving practices. As I stated earlier, we need to have longer mandatory educational periods for new drivers. And they need to be assessable to the public. This will help aid in the decrease in distraction caused accidents. And lead to a safer road.