The squealing of the breaks and the sobering realization that I’m going to crash hits me like a freight train. The impact of the curb is not only physical, but it symbolizes the psychological effect of the fear that swiftly overtakes me. All I did was glance at my phone for one short second. That’s all it took. As I turn on my hazards and jump out of my 2011 Nissan Altima, I’m praying the damage isn’t too bad. Upon reaching the right side of the vehicle, I slowly exhale seeing that there seems to be no visible damage. The car miraculously jumped the curb in such a fashion that nothing was damaged. As I try to relax and reluctantly get back behind the wheel, I couldn’t help pondering the “what if” questions that were now plaguing my mind. That could have been a person, an animal, or another car, all because I was trying to shuffle my Spotify playlist. I wasn’t intoxicated or high, I simply glanced at my phone. While many drivers only think of drugs and alcohol impairing driving, any distraction to the driver is an impairment and it’s dangerous in its own regard.

Unfortunately, my personal experience of hitting the curb was due to the easiest and most accessible impairment to driving. The cellphone. Due to the psychology behind this device, there is an unrelenting urge that a cellphone notification must be attended to right at that moment. Anything from a text to an email leads the human mind into a downward spiral of only thinking about that buzz in their pocket. While human adults find the urge somewhat resistable, adolescents such as myself often cannot resist the urge to pull the phone out and scroll, no matter their surroundings. This is, without a doubt, the most common impairment to driving in today’s society, and the scary thing is that it causes the driver to completely take their eyes off the road to comprehend what they’re looking at. Driving conditions can change in an instant, and if I, or someone around me, is distracted, we cannot properly adjust to the ever changing environment. 

While I’ve been more aware of my surroundings since my crash, I still see drivers recklessly driving because they are distracted by their phones. When I notice it, I quickly remind myself to not make the same mistake. For me, it’s like watching film for a sport. Other people’s mistakes can teach me lessons. Unfortunately, this is a societal norm that has been an issue for a while. Adolescents feel expected to check their phone, no matter where they are or how inappropriate the timing is. 

A few years ago my grandparents were in a near fatal car accident. I was younger and this was before I began driving. Looking back on this event, I can tell how it’s affected my driving today. I’m forever going to be tense while on a crowded highway, yet I still feel the urge to look at my phone! Yes, I don’t want to be the reason someone gets hurt, but I struggle to consider that when I’m antsy to check my notifications. The guilt of having to live with oneself after causing a car accident in which people were hurt is torment that I do not wish upon my worst enemy. Fixing this issue is a must, but how to go about that task is debatable, which is why I propose a different approach: using scare tactics.

The strategies to solve this issue are complicated. It remains clear that simply telling teens that it’s dangerous to text and drive is not enough. Sadly, there also remains the truth that it often takes a personal or life changing experience to affect how someone drives. While my collision was by no means serious or life changing, it made me aware that the details surrounding my crash could have been far different. Many drivers have a mindset of  “Well I’m sorry that happened to them, but I’ll be more careful, and it won’t happen to me.” There needs to be a fear of what our actions can lead to, which is why I propose intimidation/scare tactics at Driver’s Ed schools. Show them the injuries impaired driving can cause. Show them the people whose lives are forever changed because of a bad decision. Bring speakers in who have lost loved ones. Go into graphic detail about the scene of the accident, show the students the vehicles involved, what they looked like pre and post collision. While this will most likely lead to fear, a healthy dose of fear can be a good thing. It shows them that every action has a consequence, something that I had to learn after it was already too late. Young drivers need to understand the responsibility that comes with getting behind the wheel. 

As far as what I can personally do, it’s rather simple. Not only do I need to not forget everything I just laid out, I need to have courage and call my friends out when they are impairing their driving. Friends are supposed to push each other to be the best version of themselves they can be. If I can’t do that with my friends, I don’t have good friends. I shouldn’t be scared to ask my buddies to pay attention. I don’t have to be overbearing, I can simply ask them to put their phone down. There seems to be a mindset that, “If I challenge my friends, they won’t like me.” If this is true of your friends, you need new ones A.S.A.P. The police can’t be everywhere at once, so it’s up to the people in the cars themselves to hold themselves and each other accountable.

While lives are shaped everyday by the different forms of impaired driving, there is hope for improvement, and it all starts in Driver’s Ed classes. The other elements of driving, such as laws, are very important. Even more importantly however, is doing the right thing when the police aren’t around. At the end of the day, it’s the drivers responsibility to keep people safe. On the road, the only person who will notice if I pull out my phone is myself, therefore I need to take more responsibility for my actions and hold myself and friends to a higher standard in order to protect others.