In 2024 alone, about 39,000 people were killed in traffic related incidents in the United States, an estimated 3,000 of those directly involving a distracted driver. However, this number could be much greater due to how difficult it is to accurately report statistics like this. More people die every year as newer drivers become accustomed to allowing themselves to be distracted while on the road. With these reported numbers, something clearly needs to be done to lower them; encouraging many to turn to younger drivers to attempt to curb the issue before it becomes reality.
With how reliant younger generations have become on mobile phones, it is no wonder that they have become an issue on the road. They are our greatest helpers, providing music and directions, often without needing to move a finger. However, these same aids can be our greatest distractions, encouraging users to switch a song while driving or answer a text before coming to a full stop. These small actions build up over time, becoming habits that they are more willing to risk without seeing any consequences.
This has been made easier over time as many car companies have begun to install touch screens into the control panels of their cars that are constantly being advanced. While these are claimed to limit the need for drivers to be on their phone for maps, it also makes the screen much more ‘in your face’ while driving. Many can also read and respond to text messages, taking the driver's attention off the road, even if they no longer need to type or read a screen.
Every year, more teenagers begin driving, and how they are taught, as well as the habits they build for themselves, will follow them for the rest of their lives on the road. Once habits are learned, especially those developed in adolescence, it can be exceedingly difficult to break them. Hence, what teenagers learn on the road now will be the rules that they adhere to into adulthood; this could be following traffic laws and keeping their eyes on the road, or risky driving and looking at their phones while moving because they ‘haven’t been in an accident yet.’
But what can be done to counteract this? One of the best ways to solve this issue is to continue teaching young adults about the dangers of distracted driving. However, instead of showing a group of kids a video of horrific car crashes and thinly veiled threats, we can provide them with facts and appeal to logic instead of exclusively emotions, which will help them make informed decisions, instead of fear driven choices. Teenagers are notoriously known for making rebellious decisions if they think the reasoning for those rules is not meaningful enough. This can be tackled by helping drivers understand the dangers of the roads and not just trying to scare them into obedience, which often does not work in the long run.
One thing many high schools organize is a ‘Prom Promise’ or “Arrive Alive’ demonstration to educate seniors about the risks of distracted and impaired driving. Many of these demonstrations show depictions of actual car crashes, using volunteer students to simulate the aftermath of the crash and can often be very gruesome or scary for students to watch. These programs have instilled a fear of driving overall in many students and seems to utilize the tactic of “scaring teenagers straight” instead of fully sitting them down and educating them outside of the high stress environment. These one-off demonstrations need to be better accompanied by regular discussions of the importance of focused driving.
There have been multiple times that I have ended up in a ‘close call’ situation on the road and have almost been too scared to drive again for a week or two after the fact. Drivers' Education teachers are often now retired emergency responders that know what they are talking about but are more focused on getting the information out, with or without tact. This relay of information to young adults without the correct tone can also scare them off the road, unwilling to even continue practicing.
Teenagers and young adults themselves can also help limit distracted driving. Despite peer pressure being a prevalent negative issue, that influence on other teens can be utilized to improve young drivers. Once one driver develops good habits on the road and realizes just how dangerous reckless driving can be, they will begin to encourage their friends to stay off their phones and focus on the road. As positive peer pressure spreads, distracted driving will be less of an issue.
Another solution that companies specifically can contribute is either limiting the capabilities of touch screens built into cars or removing them entirely. Studies have shown that distracted driving accidents increased around 2005, and then again recently with the introduction of touch screens in cars. If texting becomes less accessible while driving, these accidents will begin to lower as people become less distracted again.
While I drive an older car, I know many friends that have cars with more advanced touch screens. The screen in my car is controlled by dials and has limited capabilities but has still managed to distract me every now and then if I need to quickly change the volume or radio station. There have been times, while in the passenger seat of a friend’s car, that I have had to remind them to focus on the road and make them let me change something on the map or check a notification. This can become even more dangerous while in the car alone as there is no one to help as you drive or to remind us how dangerous distracted driving is until it is too late.