Name: Isabel Ahmann
From: Windsor Heights, Iowa
Votes: 0
It
was one second. I looked down at my phone for one second. I told
myself it was okay; however, in this one second I crashed my car.
It
has been drilled into my brain since I was little – don’t text and
drive. I was shown countless videos of people killed from texting and
driving. I told myself that would never be me. I would never be
stupid enough to get in an accident while on my phone. But that’s
the thing, it always is an accident. No one means to crash their car,
it’s an accident.
I
was 17. I was confident in my driving abilities. I’m not proud of
this, but I would always go on my phone while I was driving. “It’s
always been fine before, so I can keep doing it,” or so I thought.
The more I did it, the less I cared. So what if I go on my phone
while I’m driving? It’ll be fine.
One
night, I was driving home from a concert in an unfamiliar
neighborhood, so I pulled up directions on my phone. It’s not like
I was texting and driving, so it wasn’t a big deal to be on my
phone I thought. But I was wrong. I looked down to find my next turn
and in the second I was distracted, I hit the car in front of me.
I
was shocked. It was one second, how could that have happened? I
wasn’t even texting and driving. But the thing is, everyone tells
you not to text and drive. And it’s true, you shouldn’t. But the
reality is, it doesn’t matter why you were on your phone. It
doesn’t matter if you were looking at directions or calling your
mom, it is still dangerous.
Looking
back, I am embarrassed to see that I became the person I said I never
was going to be. The person who was consistently on their phone while
driving. The person who got in an accident because they were on their
phone.
I
believe that young drivers should be taught that looking at your
phone for any reason is bad, not just texting. I thought it wasn’t
a big deal because I wasn’t texting and driving, but I was wrong. I
believe the more kids hear about the dangers of phones while driving,
the more they will think about the consequences.
The
night of the accident, I vowed to never be on my phone and drive
again. I can’t say I have been perfect, but I always try my best.
My family and I all got phone mounts for our cars, so now having my
phone in my hand isn’t even an option.
As
scary as the accident was, I am grateful that I learned the
consequences of distracted driving before I hurt myself or another.
Every day going forward, I make a conscious effort to put the safety
of myself and others over my selfish desire for my phone.
