We’re all familiar with the rush and stress of trying to drive to a destination with little time to spare.
In these moments, we talk on our phones, read texts, study papers, eat and drink coffee while attempting to remain focused on the road.
These attempts to save time might appear worthwhile, but the mere minutes these practices save are most certainly not worth the risk of your life and the lives of others.
Distracted driving is a major concern in the United States. Every day, more than nine people are killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Certain activities might be purely physical distractions, such as eating. However, the use of technology and reading involve more complex distractions.
Not only does reading a text take our eyes off the road, but it requires our mental attention and can take our minds away from driving.
Texting while driving is especially dangerous because it causes us to take our eyes off the road, a hand off of the wheel and our minds off driving.
Considering the significant efforts our culture has made to communicate the dangers of texting while driving, it still occurs at an alarming rate.
According to a study on driver distraction by the CDC, 31 percent of U.S. drivers ages 18-64 reported reading or sending texts or emails while driving at least once within the 30 days prior to being surveyed.
The study also linked the engagement of high school students in texting while driving to other risky behaviors such as driving while under the influence. Distracted driving is an absolutely terrible way to cause loss of life.
Not only can you harm yourself or your vehicle, but you can also end someone else’s life for an entirely preventable reason.
As college students, our exposure to connectivity can make multi-tasking at the wheel feel acceptable, but we cannot allow ourselves to partake in risky behavior.
Take this as an opportunity to prepare yourself for professional life.
From my perspective, my post-graduation job will require me to be on the road a significant portion of my day.
The amount of time I will be spending on the road will put me at a greater risk for being involved in an accident — especially if I allow myself to drive while distracted.
Preventing the traumatic experience of an accident caused by distracted driving is simple: commit to waiting to pull over.
A moment spent off the road to answer a text might make you run late, but it could just as easily save your life.
sjdickma@indiana.edu
@Samuel_Dickman
