Distracted Driving: A Personal Story

Distracted
Driving: A Personal Story

Drivers ed is the key to ensuring that we
only have the most informed and capable drivers on the road. Without
proper education for upcoming drivers, young teens won’t know the
distinct difference between a green or a blue sign on the highway.
They’ll completely ignore the gear of “Neutral” in a car and in
general, won’t know how to avoid crashes or what to do if they find
themselves involved in an accident. Most importantly, they need to
understand the dangers of distracted driving.

Cars are extremely dangerous hunks of metal
going at unbearable speeds so near people that, sadly deaths are far
more common than they should be. To reduce this number, we must
properly educate new drivers on not only how to navigate a road, but
on emergency maneuvers to avoid death.
Young drivers are the age group most involved with crashes and, in
some cases, the ones who cause the most deaths on the road. I believe
more time and attention should be paid to distracted driving. Proper
education is the one and only sure-fire method to prevent these
unnecessary deaths. New drivers need to know to resist the phone and
what their consequences are if they dare pick up or even look at a
phone.

I was in a crash within the first few months
after I got my driver’s license. I was the driver and my younger
brother was my passenger. It was an awful experience. I looked over
at my brother’s phone for a split second and went forward without
my eyes on the road and hit the car in front of me. Thankfully, it
wasn’t a major crash, and no one was injured, but it left a mark on
my psyche and it left an impact in how I drive today. I know that my
actions were irresponsible, and I was lucky to not have any injuries
as a result of my actions. I know that in another scenario, I
could’ve killed someone or totaled a car and injured someone
because of my distraction.

I will never look down at a phone while driving
again. I have taken this terrible experience and used it as a
learning tool, and I have improved as a reliable driver. By doing
this and taking my past as an example to live by, I have become a
safer driver on the road. I can help others by telling them my story
and if I’m a passenger, by not allowing them to look at anyone’s
phone while driving. I will also never get into a car with a person
who’s drunk or high and this inadvertently helps others as it
reduces their motive to drive when they’re in that state. All these
steps and more are ultimately what are necessary to protect everyone
on the road. We all need to realize that driving is a privilege and a
privilege comes with rules for you to uphold.