Natalie
Davenport

Comprehensive
Solution: A New Revolution


We’ve
all seen the ad campaigns,
the
news reports, the PSA’s.
Distracted
driving steers young people awry,
stealing
4,000 too many teenage lives1.

This
problem needs a comprehensive solution,
a
targeted approach, a new revolution.
Split
in two parts, my plan has teens and parents
working
together for mutual life assurance.

First,
emphasis will be put on the parent in charge,
the
teen’s main influencer1,
their environment at large.
Parents
will be asked by teenagers like me,
to
kick bad driving habits for the sake of their progeny.

These
bad habits include distracting conversation,
driving
while eating, and cell phone fixation.
They
steal the parent’s hearing, sight, and cognation,
and
yet they lay the young driver’s foundation.

Cell
phone fixation causes a quarter of all crashes1,
but
parental example could save these children from ashes.
Perhaps
parents believe they’re more capable than others,
but
multitasking is a myth, even for fathers and mothers.

The
second part of the plan depends on the teen,
on
their cognizance, their choices, and respect for their machine.
Life
is made of choices, and these drivers must decide,
that
their life is worth the simple choice to “just drive”1.

The
first step is obvious: decide before
they buckle up -
drivers
survive 50% more when they use the seatbelt hookup1.
The
next few steps may blow your mind,
they’re
simple, practical, and don’t take much time.

Dear
drivers: Put your phone in the back seat, where it’s out of sight,
where
it’s not seen, not heard, and not whipped out at a red light.
If
you must use your phone for GPS to get around,
keep
it out of your hands by using a windshield-mount.

If
you love your mother, father, friends, and family,
you’ll
keep conversations mellow and drive responsibly.
Protecting
your people means both hands on the wheel,
not
on a phone, a person, or even a really good meal.

When
you’re thinking of carpooling, be mindful of your fellow teen,
adding
one doubles your risk, and three or more is a risk machine1.
I
know you love your friends, but be aware of the stats,
young
people in your car creates a dangerous habitat.

I’m
begging of you to listen and share this news -
tell
parents and young drivers of their necessity to choose.
Their
decision will hold the chance of life or death,
and
nobody, nobody, wants to steal a person’s last breath.

These
simple guidelines should lead, guide, and direct,
please
implement them to keep yourself from getting wrecked.

1
“Facts.” Impact
Teen Drivers,
https://www.impactteendrivers.org/resources/facts