Don't Text and Drive

Ever since I was seven years old, I couldn’t wait to get my driving license, but I did not understand everything that was involved in driving. Thankfully as I grew up, I became more educated about road rules, signs and safety, however, the majority of Americans do not take the time to learn about car safety. A car is seen as a tool to getting places and while that is true, it is more than a simple tool. A car is a 4,000-pound bomb that is controlled by a person and without the proper education on how to handle it, it can lead to numerous deaths including the drivers.

I took Drivers ed during the summer when I was 15 and to this day, I still use the stuff that my instructor taught. Those two weeks were the most important part of my teenage life because I learned how to apply what I knew in real-life situations in a safe environment. My instructor was patient and chill which made me relaxed, allowing me to focus on my driving. I did not learn everything in those two weeks, but I learned everything I needed to drive safely and improve. I firmly believe that everyone who gets their driver's license should be required to take a class because it can help reduce car-related deaths.

Car accidents have taken many people’s lives in recent years for many reasons but a common one is the use of smartphones. When people look at their phones, they are taking their eyes off the road for a few seconds. A few seconds may seem small, but when traveling 60mph a lot can happen in just a few seconds. Almost every American has done this in their driving career including myself. Once when I was running late for a volunteer event, I got an alert on Messenger from my friend asking for the location of the event, so as I was driving I started texting them not realizing that my car was halfway off the road and headed into a ditch. Thankfully I was able to fix it, but that’s not always the case for everyone.

While phones are a problem, they are also the answer to reducing car accidents. Many smartphones have 'do not disturb 'or 'driving' settings that can be enabled so that alerts will not pop up. I did not realize this until one day when I texted my friend and immediately got an automatic message that said “I’m driving with Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on. I’ll see your message when I get where I’m going.” I was so happy that my friend wasn’t texting and driving that I didn’t care about receiving an immediate response. People need to be aware of the dangers that texting could lead and the tools available to help them from getting distracted by their phones so that they can drive safely and arrive at their destination without harming others or themselves.