Teens nowadays are not only faced with distractions in their everyday lives, but now when you include driving with this, the stakes are raised enormously. According to statistics from cdc.gov, “Each day, more than 15 people are killed and more than 1,200 people are injured in crashes that were reported to involve a distracted driver.” Countless distractions occur both inside and outside the car. Inside, the driver could get distracted by changing the radio, talking/texting on the phone, taking one’s hands off the steering wheel, and passengers veering the driver’s attention from the road. Outside of the car, there could be animals in the road, road signs, harmful weather, and pedestrians walking/ biking. All of these distractions are harmful because they take the driver’s attention off of the road for a significant amount of time.
Because teenagers are new drivers without much experience, distractions could be even more detrimental to them. Most people consider texting to be one of the biggest distractions, especially for teen drivers, and according to distracteddrivinghelp.com, “Over 50 percent of teens have admitted to texting behind the wheel of a car.” Talking on the phone has the same effect because it takes the attention off of the road and onto a phone conversation, and it also causes one to take her hands off of the steering wheel. Even though it is slightly better than taking one’s hands off of the steering wheel, hands free phones and Bluetooths are still harmful to drivers as well because it causes her attention to be more focused on the phone conversation than on the road and what is happening around her. According to nsc.org, “National Safety Council Estimates that At Least 1.6 Million Crashes Each Year Involve Drivers Using Cell Phones and Texting.” It is important to wait to talk on your phone until out of the car, and even though it is tempting to answer that one text, ignoring it until done driving can save lives.
Passengers could be chief distractions to the driver as well by doing things such as talking and horseplay, and because she is with her friends, the driver thinks that she can “show off” or “have fun” with the passengers present in the vehicle. Holding that conversation or responding to their antics can be detrimental not only to the people in the car, but also to fellow drivers. According to teendrivingsource.org, “Two or more peer passengers more than triples the risk of a fatal crash with a teen at the wheel.” Passengers to teen drivers are big distractions, and they can increase the risk of collision.
Keepthedrive.com is a movement led by teens created in order to prevent and avoid the number one killer of teens- car crashes. Car crashes can be caused by almost anything such as texting/talking on the phone, bad weather, passengers, and even road signs. The number one thing to remember while driving is to stay focused on the road at all times and do not let distractions come between you and the road.
