Disastrous Distracted Driving

When it comes to driving we can expect to have many drivers out on the road get distracted in many ways, whether it’s by getting distracted on their phones or being on calls or being intoxicated. I always like to say that driving itself is a privilege that nobody should take for granted because driving can be deadly if not used properly. As the years go by more and more drivers join the road as they get their own cars to make traveling and getting from one place to another easier. Because the truth is that when ever a driver decides to go on the road they are not guaranteed to go to their destination safely, if the drivers around them aren’t safe. Which is why it’s important to prioritize focus and distraction free driving! Although I myself don’t personally have a car of my own to get from place to place, I have witnessed other people around me make mistakes while they are on the road. Whether that’s by being distracted on their phones or texting a loved one, because at times it can “seem” easy to shoot a text to your loved ones while you’re on the road or it’s easy to call and multi-task while you are on the road. But the truth is that it’s all a mistake! When ever I see someone try to get distracted by using their phones or call someone while they are driving, I plainly tell them to cut it out and that it’s not safe. While I myself don’t have a car or drive, even common sense can determine that it’s morally wrong to text or call while behind the wheel because you not only risk your own life but the life of others. Being a college student I have had my fair share of rides I was given to go to a place to shop or eat, through these rides I noticed that a lot of my peers and friends like to get distracted on their phones when it comes to switching music. While this may be pleasing to have the right music while you’re out and about on the road, the few seconds that you lay your eyes off the road to focus on choosing the right song it can cause a lot of damage if not done right. And example of this that happened very recently was while I was coming back home from The University of Texas at San Antonio with my roommate, my roommate was scrolling through his playlist to find the right song, during this time we had a classic groovy song playing which was Chicago by Michael Jackson (which who would change it because Michael Jackson is great no pun intended) and my roommate decided to queue another song. During this time traffic decided to stop, suddenly my roommate noticed that the cars stopped and moved towards the right to avoid getting hit or hitting another car. This shook me and surprised me as well as scared me because of how sudden it was, while my roommate moved towards the right, a few things that we were carrying in the backseat launched towards us and it was chaotic. But to imagine what would’ve happened if my roommate didn’t have fast reflections to notice the sudden change and avoid it, is tragic and scary. Which leads back to my point of drivers risking their lives every time they get on the road! This could’ve been avoided by giving me the role of being the amazing DJ (joke) or deciding to choose out a playlist that you feel comfortable with letting play while you’re behind the road! Either that or go to your trusty Spotify or Apple Music and create a playlist of all the songs you consider to be groovy and bops. Because it’s much safer to come prepared with songs than it is yo constantly switch out or search for that right song, and if you do want to search for that right song that will make you shake your hips and make you move like a worm than you can entrust your shotgun passenger to take the role as DJ to search it up while you have both hands and eyes on the road! One of the main targeted age groups for careless driving or intoxicated driving have been proven to be young people, since they fall victim easier to drinking and driving than other groups. And trust me I speak for my generation and these “young people”, being a 19 year old male I have seen my fair share of friends get intoxicated while partying. And the main reason for that is because they are either trying to prove maturity by drinking and getting “messed up” during parties or they like the concept of trying to have as much fun as possible by getting drastically drunk during events and parties. In some cases young people attend parties that can either be college parties or simply friend groups, and during these said parties they may fall into peer pressure from their own friends and peers. I say this because I myself have almost fallen victim to this predicament multiple times but my strength to say “no” gave me the upper hand, plus it also helped that I had my roommate with me who also believes what I believe, which is saying no to drinking or drugs. And the reason why I believe in this is because I myself have been impacted by drinking and driving. At the age 10, my biological father was arrested for drinking and driving. This not only affected me but also my mother and my siblings. During the day that I found out that my father was arrested, it was my birthday and it was a shocking surprise to find out. This did not only traumatize me but it mentally affected all my childhood. Due to my father being absent, it forced me and my family to go from house to house because my mother was pregnant with four kids. This led to a lot of financial problems that I had to face at a young age. Due to my biological father deciding to drink and drive, my family and I were forced to become homeless and face growing up with a father figure. This event has forever changed my childhood, and I’m positive I’m not the only child that this has happened to. It can happen to anyone, which is why I highly believe when you get drunk and decide to drive, you not only risk your well-being but you also risk your family having to deal with your absence but in worst case scenarios, your family can even lose YOU because of an accident that may occur when you’re drinking and driving. Young people have been known to be very gullible and outright rebellious (speaking from experience) which is why we are one of the most common groups to get impacted and affected by drinking and driving. Which is why it’s important to drive sober, not only for your well-being but your family and your loved ones! The truth is when you decide to text and drive you lose focus on what you’re doing in the street and put a lot of the attention to a device that could lead to your death. Once you decide to text and drive you may not notice things that happen in the street and this could lead to you injuring yourself and even others. Other possible options would most definitely be to enforce laws that would scare drivers from texting and driving. These enforced laws would not only lead to a ticket but also jail time and other further charges if a driver gets caught texting and driving. I really do dislike the fact that there is people out in the street who think and believe that texting and driving is fine, because those type of people could eventually have an accident one day where they not only injure themselves, their cars but also people around them. That’s why I believe we need to highly prioritize in decreasing cases where drivers text and drive. And we can do this by sharing the stories of people who have driven while either being distracted by a phone or intoxicated and show them the consequences those actions brought, such as the death or injuries of the drivers or the surrounding victims!