Teenagers. They are possibly the most doubtful people you will ever meet. When someone tells them something that contradicts what they want to hear, they simply don’t believe them. Oftentimes, in a situation like this, a teenager’s brain reaches the conclusion that what they are being told is simply a hyperbole.
Additionally, teenagers are living in a world that is full of some of the most tempting distractions. One of the most tempting distractions to teenagers is phones because they always have a desire to know what is going on, whether that includes drama in their friend groups, or a new trending dance posted on social media. Music can also be a distraction for teenagers. It may simply be that their music is too loud, impairing their ability to hear emergency vehicles, or they may just be caught up in skipping songs they do not want to listen to on their joyride. Having friends in the car that are loud, distracting, or trying to get you to pay less attention to the road – usually by trying to show you pictures of something – can also be extremely distracting. All of these distractions are made even more dangerous by the fact that teenagers are new drivers and do not have years of experience under their belt like their parents most likely do.
One of the best examples of the doubtfulness and abundance of tempting distractions previously mentioned is myself. I was taught by my parents, as well as my driving school, that it only takes a split second of distraction to lead to a life-altering crash. My brain did not want to believe what I was told, but I learned my lesson very quickly. I had just gotten a phone stand that would attach to the vent of my car so that I could see the GPS more easily. As I was driving to work at seven o’clock on a summer day, I got a text from one of my college friends. I was genuinely concerned for her wellbeing because she never wakes up before nine o’clock in the morning. I was in a rush and did not have time to pull over and look at the text in a safe manner. Instead, I exited the GPS app and went into the messages app, while still driving, to make sure that my friend was not in any immediate danger or distress. I had looked down at the phone for only a second, keeping one hand on the wheel, but when I looked up, I was no longer in my lane, and there was a car headed straight towards me. The only reason that I did not end up in a fatal head-on car collision was because of my quick reaction time, and the fact that I had only looked away from the road for a split second. That experience scared me straight, I will never again touch my phone when I am driving. Risking my life, and the life of others on the road is not worth trying to make sure that your friend is alright when they certainly have other resources and people that they can reach out to.
As I shared in my story, distracted driving is not just a danger to the person that is making that decision, but also other people that are on the road. I see it as unfair to put other people who are following the rules of the road in danger. It is important to keep that in mind, especially making sure that you consider the fact that some of the cars on the road are carrying young children or babies. While driver education is attempting to solve this problem, there is more that they can do besides just telling teenagers not to drive distracted (which is the only time they addressed distracted driving in my driver's education class). Sometimes a demonstration is needed.
As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, demonstrations are a good way to get teenagers to understand the true gravity of what distracted driving can lead to. Schools, communities, and driver’s education programs can all put on events that have car crash simulators. There are virtual simulators that are basically glasses that you put on that can show the terror of a car crash and the end result. There are also more expensive simulators that are similar to roller coasters, but they show you what the impact of a small crash would feel like. Schools, communities, and driver’s education programs should also spend more time talking about distracted driving, specifically the consequences of it. They tend to emphasize the results of drunk driving, but they should put the same emphasis on distracted driving.
Teenagers can do their part in ending distracted driving by trying to open their brain up to new information and believe what adults try to tell them. Additionally, teenagers can put their phones on silent, or “do not disturb” in order to minimize the number of possible distractions. Carefully picking the people that are in the car with you can also help minimize distraction because you can make sure that they will not pull your attention from the road. Making sure the music is at an appropriate volume is also an important thing that teenagers can do to help end distracted driving. Additionally, if they keep skipping songs, teenagers can put the radio on instead of playing music from their phone.
While there are many actions that teenagers, schools, communities, and driver’s education programs can take to end distracted driving, it is important to note that it will take time for this change to occur and make a difference in the number of crashes due to distracted driving. It is not impossible to prevent distracted driving, but it will take a lot of hard work and change.