McCoy O’Connor

Norman High School, Class of 2026

405-766-9553 

21 November 2025

As a fairly new driver, I feel this issue of driving distracted hits home for my generation. We are a generation that likes technology, and it is very tempting to constantly stay engaged with music, Snap, Instagram and texting. I believe most people understand that a text is not so important that you must answer while driving. But I also think people of all ages have a belief that “it won’t happen to them” or that they can just answer back “real quick.” Unfortunately, more than three thousand people lose their lives each year due to distracted driving due to technology. From texting, to speeding, driving drunk, driving fatigued to ignoring traffic laws impaired driving can take on many forms that people of all ages are guilty of committing. 

I took a ten-hour driver’s education course and drove several thousand “practice” miles with my parents before I was able to get my license and drive on my own. Driver’s Education showed many videos on terrible accidents so that we understood how dangerous driving could be. I live in a rural area and I travel Highway 59, a two-lane highway for half of my commute, and along Interstate 35 for the other half. Both roads pose different levels of impaired driving. When I travel the county highway, I see many drivers ignoring speed limit signs, and more dangerously, ignoring the double yellow lines indicating a no-passing zone. The drivers that choose to completely ignore the laws of the road and pass on a hill make me angry. I imagine my mom or dad, or my brother or sisters coming over the other side of that hill. Our lives would be forever changed by someone’s complete lack of responsibility for the other drivers on the road. Once I hit the second half of my commute on Interstate 35, I see impaired driving in the form of texting, speeding, tailgating, and road rage. The stretch of interstate that I commute is notorious for dangerous accidents that often result in senseless tragedy. 

It was my freshman year of high school when one of my soccer teammates’ close friends lost his life due to distracted driving on I-35. He was driving back from an early Sunday morning car show along with one of his friends, who was driving separately. The two young men liked going fast and drove fast cars. They were racing down I-35, weaving in and out of traffic, when one of them made an aggressive maneuver to cut the other one off, and was crushed under the back of an eighteen-wheeler. So senseless and tragic. These two young men felt they were “just having fun” on a low-traffic Sunday morning commute back to their hometown. Instead, one lost his life way too young, and the other will live with that guilt for the rest of his life. Countless lives were impacted that day because of their negligence and naïve sense of being in control of the road. This accident haunted many of my friends for a while, but as time often does, they forget and continue with their reckless driving because “it won’t happen to them.”

As technology improves and aspects of our lives become easier, we need to learn to use that technology responsibly. I’m lucky that my car can use Apple CarPlay, making it easy to handle phone calls and navigation with voice controls. I’ve turned on the “Do Not Disturb” feature on my phone to respond to texts that come through while I drive, so I’m not tempted by the distraction. I understand that not all vehicles have the technology to support drivers with these features. Devices or technology that help to older vehicles utilize this technology would be incredibly beneficial, and insurance deductions for installing these devices would make an excellent incentive for these to be commonplace. 

I believe that if Driver’s Education continues to show the hard truths of driving, along with powerful social media ads, can continue to highlight the dangers that are present on the road, there will be an impact on the new drivers coming into society. Driving is a privilege and a responsibility; drivers must understand that they are responsible to themselves, fellow drivers, and their loved ones to ensure that they do their part to drive safely. I’ll leave you with the words my mom repeats often, “Arrive alive.”