Driving is a privilege that I am lucky enough to be able to enjoy. However, it is a privilege that many do not take seriously enough, including myself, and often as we are in control of a metal contraption that can seriously injure ourselves or others, I still find myself getting distracted while driving. Teens are often trying to act “cool” while operating a vehicle and doing this can be so dangerous. Educating teens on the importance of focused driving is key to keeping everyone safe, because car accidents are so uncool and making sure teenagers know that is extremely important. Acknowledging our distractions and taking steps to fix them is a great step to ensuring safer roads.
For me, the biggest distraction is my phone. I completely understand how dangerous it is to be looking at my phone while driving and that is why I have taken concrete steps to try and stop this terrible habit. For example, I have a setting on my phone that detects when I am driving, and it automatically turns on do not to disturb for me. This stops my phone from receiving notifications and limits me from picking up my phone and checking my texts or any other notification so that I can stay alert while driving. Secondly, I always keep my phone in the cupholders next to me. This keeps my phone away so that it is harder to get to and keeps the screen facing away from me, so I am not tempted to check it at all. Lastly, I start my music, my directions, and ensure that do not disturb is on all before putting the car in drive. If I want to change the music or check the directions, I have whoever I am driving with do that for me. Making sure I am all ready to start driving before I start ensures that I will not need to touch or look at my phone in any way while I am driving. These are simple things that every teenager can do to practice safer driving habits.
When I was a first-year student in high school, one of my brother's best friends was involved in a fatal car accident. She was in the car with a bunch of her friends playing music too loud and driving too fast. When they went to take an exit, they could not control the car because they were going too fast, and the car flipped. She was not wearing her seatbelt, and she was ejected from the car and passed away on the scene. The driver was just 19 years old. This was so preventable had the driver turned down the music and paid attention to what he was doing and realized how fast he was going. A college freshman with her whole life ahead of her died right then and there. She never got to graduate college, or celebrate another birthday, or even finish her first semester of college. Her family never got to say goodbye, didn't get to hug her one last time, or even see her smile again. And the boy driving has to live with what happened that day for the rest of his life. This one day, this one drive, this one exit, changed the lives of so many and it's sad that stories like this are not uncommon. This is a tragedy that has stuck with me for over five years, and I think about this story every time I drive a car.
Driving a car is a privilege. It is something that no one should ever do without fully understanding the consequences that can and do come when that privilege is taken for granted.
A car is not something that is easy to manage. It takes complete focus 100% of the time I am operating it and something like quickly checking a text can cause a life and death situation. Distracted driving is a main cause of car accidents and if everyone stayed more focused on the task at hand there would be fewer car accidents and therefore safer roads for everyone. I try to do my part every time I get into the car to ensure the safety of not only myself and my passengers but for everyone on the roads. Doing these few simple things can save lives.
Promoting safe driving habits in teens should be a priority for everyone. It should be taught more aggressively in schools and should be talked about more in every community across the world. The numbers are terrifying, the number of people per year that die in car accidents and to know that if everyone did their part, we could diminish that number significantly gives me hope for a safer future.