A drivers license.

The thing everyone looks forward to on their 16th birthday. Because with a license, comes a certain freedom. As teenagers, we can’t wait to be able to drive. We can’t wait to be able to go wherever we want, to not have to be picked up at like 9 o’clock because your parents are tired, to go get food whenever you’re hungry, to be free.

As a newly licensed driver, I was so excited to be able to do all these things. I know that all of my friends were too. We didn’t have to get dropped off by our parents anymore. But a license comes with a responsibility and I don’t think we understand that as teenagers. Here’s the biggest problem I see with teen drivers.

Texting and driving.

This is probably one of the dumbest, most irresponsible things you can do as a teenager. I can’t believe people out there would jeopardize their lives for a text message or a snapchat of something so worthless, like a plain old selfie of you.  I hate it when people text/snapchat/tweet and drive. People drive like idiots anyway and texting and driving makes it so much worse. Honestly, adults shouldn’t even text and drive because having a phone seriously messes with your focus. I’ve been in cars where the adult driver is texting and driving and let me tell you it wasn’t pretty. They just aren’t paying attention to the road that’s already filled with distractions. And when new teenage drivers do it, it usually turns out in near catastrophe. I don’t really think teenagers understand the consequences of texting and driving because a lot of teens think they’ll die without their phone.

But they really might die with their phone.

In their hand.

In a wrecked car.

Crashed into a tree.

And I sure as hell don’t want to be in that car.

But the thing I hate more than teens texting and driving is when teens text and drive with passengers in the car. Like go ahead and put your life in danger (don’t really) but DON’T put your friends lives in danger too. And don’t put innocent strangers lives in danger. And don’t put my life in danger. I’m sure whatever you’re doing on your phone is not that important.

I don’t really understand how people can text and drive. Personally, I don’t have any multitasking and driving skills. I get SO nervous even looking at the GPS to see where I’m going. Heck, I can’t even eat and drive. But while I’m uncoordinated and I guess an untalented multitasking driver, there are drivers out there texting and driving, probably as you read this. Here’s their excuse “I have total control”, “I’m good at multitasking”, “It was really important” and I heard this one a couple minutes ago, “Yolo” blah blah blah...

No not YOLO. Actually, yeah you only live once but if you keep texting and driving, you’re only gonna live once for maybe five more years. According to USA Today, 25% of crashes are due to texting and driving. Newsday reports texting and driving is also the leading cause of teen driver deaths. Texting and driving, not drinking and driving, texting and driving. And Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates 11 teen drivers die per day from texting and driving. I certainly don’t want to be part of that 11, do you?

So I take all the pledges out there to never text and drive. I believe it really can wait. If you’re driving and you don’t want to die/total your car/kill your friends/kill a stranger I suggest you do the same. While you may think this may be cheesy and lame and filled with facts you probably don’t care about, this is an important issue. I don’t want to see you paying thousands of dollars for a totaled car. I don’t want to see you dead because of a little text message. So let’s try to minimize the craziness out there on the roads and put our phones down.  

Works Cited

"Study: Texting While Driving Now Leading Cause of Death for Teen Drivers - Newsday." Newsday. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.

"Texting and Driving Statistics - Distracted Driving Drives Up Risk." Edgarsnyder.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.

USA Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.