Name: Haripriya Mantraratnam
From: Madison, AL
Votes: 0
“Don’t Text
and Drive.” Teenagers like me have heard these words countless
times in our short lives, but their significance only rings true in
difficult situations. The crucial gap in today’s driving mindset is
that we have to move away from “It’s okay to look at my phone
since there’s a red light” to “For everyone’s safety, I
should let someone else in the car hold my phone while I drive”.
Therefore, drivers ed has unmatched potential to reduce the
death toll of driving, but instead of a slogan-based approach, PSAs
should guide drivers not only to avoid dangerous behaviors, but to
promote safe practices. The high number of deaths is mostly a result
of distracted driving, but remembering the scope of harm that drivers
may unintentionally inflict is the solution.
Realistically,
today’s distracting devices are to blame for most car accidents.
The allure of the Internet competes with the road for attention, and
when our phones win, we lose. This phenomenon harms not only young
drivers but also adults who are constantly pressed for time and
pressured to fulfill their responsibilities. For example, my dad’s
daily schedule overflows with meetings and clients, so sometimes he
needs to take a call while driving. I try to avoid this because it is
not safe. Driving should not be something to multitask, but every
day, people attempt it because they think they cannot afford to lose
precious time. They forget that nothing is more important than their
life, or the lives of others.
Accordingly, people must realize their poor decision making won’t
just affect them. Even if they don’t know it in that moment, their
actions will have consequences for other people. At the very least,
even if someone will not help another person, they will try not to
hurt them. This basic human nature is the most powerful tool we have
to prevent accidents.
Furthermore, an
incident in which I was almost in a crash makes this evident. One
rainy day, the road was slippery, so my dad’s car went off the road
onto wet grass. We were just feet away from the car beside us and
were lucky to have missed it. Our lesson was that we should
periodically check the grip of our tires and stay aware of the cars
around us. By swerving when he did, my dad missed the car in front of
us and avoided an accident. He later told me that in a split second,
he knew his conscience could not take the guilt of harming someone if
he could prevent it.
All in all, to be
a better, safer driver, I have to prioritize the safety of others on
the road as well as my own. I will remind myself and others to wear a
seat belt and put away devices. In addition, I will always keep my
attention on the road, and I hope other drivers will do the same,
even when someone else is not there to make sure.
