Just a glance.
I was a member of my high school’s marching band for four years, performing our halftime shows under the Friday night lights each game. While it may appear small from the stands, once you step out on that turf, from one goal post to the other, one hundred yards away, the football field seems massive. In driver’s education class, I can still remember our teacher sharing this fact: in the time it takes to just glance at your phone to send a text, it is like driving the length of a football field blindfolded. Thinking back to standing on the sidelines of that field, it really put the seriousness of texting and driving into perspective. No one thinks it will happen to them - they are the ones who know how to text and drive “safely”. But in the blink of an eye, for something as unimportant as sending a text message to your friend or just glancing at the latest Instagram post, lives can be changed forever. It is simply not worth it. Not even a glance.
Yet I see it every day driving around my college campus. Distracted students on their phones, catching up on the latest social media posts or texting friends to make plans for the
weekend. Not only does it concern me for my own safety, but I truly worry about their safety and the safety of other drivers around them as well. If we want to make a change
about the distracted driving epidemic affecting the entire country, people must speak up and stigmatize texting and driving. In a world where we are expected to always stayvconnected and multitask, it is time to say texting and driving is simply not acceptable. According to a recent survey, 97% of teen drivers agree that texting and driving is
dangerous, yet 43% admit to doing it anyway. While older adults are guilty of this too, as teens and young adults, I believe we need to start holding each other accountable, and if it means calling out our peers and friends, it may just be what we must do to save a life.
I feel privileged to have a car to drive to school, work, activities, and my clinical rotations at nearby hospitals. Although I feel as attached to my phone as any young adult, I acknowledge it as a distraction while driving. For the safety of myself, my passengers, and other drivers around me, I am intentional about putting my phone in my backpack or purse in the backseat while I drive. There is no text or notification that cannot wait until I get to my destination, and with my phone out of reach, 100% of my focus can be on arriving safely. Taking personal responsibility for your actions is critical in eliminating distracted driving. We must make active choices, like putting phones in driving mode, placing them in bags and on silent, or pulling over if we must use the phone. But beyond personal responsibility, as young drivers, I believe we must collectively and actively speak out against texting and driving. We all know teens and young adults are heavily influenced by their peers. If the majority starts speaking out against distracted driving and refusing to ride with friends who do so, like other unsafe habits that have become frowned upon like smoking or not wearing a seatbelt, texting and driving will become a thing of the past.
As a student nurse extern at a local hospital and a nursing student at Auburn University, I have seen the direct impact of distracted driving first hand. Young lives changed in an instant, simply because of a momentary poor decision. No one ever thinks it will happen to them, but in just the blink of an eye, lives can be changed forever. As a young adult and a future nurse, I feel a heavy responsibility to not only take personal accountability for safe driving, but also to encourage those around me to do so as well.
We live in a world where we feel we have to be constantly connected, but there is nothing worth risking our lives or the lives of others. Whatever it is, it can wait. As teens and young adults, we must acknowledge the incredible risk and danger associated with texting and driving, speak out against it, and actively decide to make a change as a generation. There is no amount of time to safely take your eyes off the road – not even a glance.