When I was eight years old, my mom almost died because of a distracted driver. We can prevent situations like these by simply reducing our distracted driving habits. My most common distracted driving habits include looking down at my phone for directions, sleep deprivation, and loud music. Distracting habits such as these can be easily fixed if we just realized the danger we put ourselves and others in; we’re risking everything out of carelessness and disregard for human life. Driver education not only shows new drivers the laws for the road, but also reinforces the caution we should display when driving a motor vehicle.
Oftentimes, I use Google Maps for directions. In the age of technology, most people use their phone rather than a physical map or their memory to get to where they need to be. It is very dangerous when I have my phone on my lap and look down to see what my next step is; my phone moves around when the car turns and I need to worry about it falling off my lap. The seconds that I spend looking down are seconds that aren’t spent looking at the road and being a diligent driver. It could easily cause a crash when the solutions are actually quite simple.
A solution for this is to turn the audible directions on and have them be narrated to you instead of requiring your vision. You can then put your phone away and be focused on the road instead of looking down. Another solution is to mount your phone so you can easily glance at the directions and still be able to see the road. If you have any passengers that you trust, allow them to give you directions instead of multitasking. You will be able to get where you need without endangering yourself and others.
As a student with a work and social life, it is extremely common to be sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation is very dangerous on the road, as you can lose focus or fall asleep, leading to fatal accidents. When I once rear-ended someone, this was the cause; I was exhausted because I had work the night before and didn’t get enough sleep. Then, I went to college orientation for nine hours and also had to drive three hours that day. Sleep deprivation is very common for students because we have so many duties to attend to that we might sacrifice sleep for.
For a solution to sleep deprivation, you first have to realize the dangerous consequences it can have; it can be life or death when you are on the road and not fully aware of your surroundings. Adequate sleep helps you function better for your everyday tasks, so you must make it a priority. If you have to wake up at a certain time the next day, make sure you go to sleep at the appropriate time to give you enough hours of sleep. Do not overwork yourself; give your body time to rest and don’t just fill up your planner so much that you are mentally and physically exhausted.
Additionally, loud music is definitely distracting to me. Music can be used positively for me as well; it helps me stay vigilant when I’m driving for a long period of time instead of becoming so bored that I get sleepy. However, I realize that whenever I need to focus on the directions, I tend to lower the volume or pause my music because it gets overwhelming. If I need to turn it off to focus, that means it’s a factor that can distract me from safe driving. You shouldn’t be multitasking when driving because it decreases your focus on the road. Loud music can also reduce the chances of you hearing an emergency vehicle behind you or being able to hear your surroundings in an important situation. Therefore, I think it’s important to not play music so loud that you can’t hear other vehicles and turn it off when it is overstimulating for you.
Distracted driving is not only a problem with young adults, but it’s a problem for everyone. Unfortunately, I have been personally affected by distracted driving accidents many times. When I was eight, my mom worked an hour away at a medical center and I was home with my grandma and dad. After an hour of her not arriving or calling to say she was running late, we were beginning to worry. My dad called her over and over again to no response. My mom has always been very punctual; it simply made no sense why she wouldn’t contact us to let us know what was holding her up.
Thirty minutes later, my dad got a phone call. My mom was in the hospital and had been in a horrible car accident. She was T-boned at an intersection from someone running a red light, possibly intoxicated, but definitely distracted and careless. We raced to the hospital, with my grandma already sobbing in the backseat, not knowing if her baby was safe or not. When we arrived at her hospital bed, her neck was in a brace and she looked exhausted laying there, like she could barely find the strength to move. They let us know that her car was totaled and she was safe, but the first thing she had asked about as she was carried onto the stretcher was if she was going to be able to see her daughter again. Not once did her wrecked car cross her mind. When you are recklessly driving, without your full attention on the road, that’s who you are endangering: not expensive vehicles but people. Humans who have lives and people that love them. Humans that may have young children or an elderly mother at home who rely on them.
Ultimately, distracting driving is very common, especially among teenagers and young adults, and can have very fatal results. My distracted driving habits such as looking down at my phone for directions, sleep deprivation, and loud music are all issues that can be easily resolved. We can all take concrete steps to reduce distracting factors and make the road a safer place for everyone. We must realize the very real effects of distracted driving and the lives we are putting on the line.