I was at a red light just the other day, minding my own business when I decided to look around at other drivers. What I saw can only be explained as pure horror, a large portion of the drivers were actively looking at their phones.
The light turned green and it took a few seconds for the line to move. Not because of traffic but because the person in front of me was still finishing a text. That tiny delay seems laughable to complain about, but distracted driving is not laughable and it is certainly not rare.
These drivers probably think they are the exception. They are probably convinced that they are good at multitasking; news flash, nobody is good at multitasking. Driving is not a background activity, it is an activity that needs your full attention. When you look at your phone for five seconds going, how about, 55 miles per hour you have essentially driven the full length of a football field blindfolded. No reaction time, zero awareness and no control if something unexpected happens on the road.
What makes this all the more frustrating is the fact that we all know better. I know you have seen the commercials. I know you have seen the statistics on crashes because of distracted driving. We all probably judged someone for looking at their phones while driving. Yet at the next red light, your phone buzzes and suddenly that is a more important thing than your life.
There is no text message so critical that it cannot wait a few minutes. There is no notification more important than the life of the person in the crosswalk, the cyclist in the bike lane or the driver in the next lane over. When we pick up our phones behind the wheel, we are not just making a personal choice. We are gambling with everyone else’s safety.
And the scariest part? Distracted driving has become normalized. We barely react when we see someone drifting in-between lanes because they are looking down. We sigh when someone does not move at a green light because we assume they are texting. It has become an expected inconvenience rather than a shocking danger. But it should be shocking.
Driving a vehicle is one of the most dangerous things we do daily. It is a privilege that comes with responsibility. When we allow a screen to steal our attention, we disrespect that responsibility. The solution is easy, put the phone down. No, changing the song that is playing is not that important. No, your best friend’s new Instagram post is not that important. No, that text message from your mom is not that important, even if she says it is. Your life is important and so are the lives around you. Just put the phone down.
The next time you are at a red light, look around. Really look. Notice how many drivers are bent over their phones. Then make a quiet decision to be different. Because safe driving is not just about protecting yourself. It is about protecting everyone who shares the road with you and that is something no notification will ever be worth risking.
