People aren’t bad drivers; it’s what’s going on around us and all the distractions that make the accidents happen. Don’t be part of the statistic, make good choices, be safe and drive smart.

Distracted driving is becoming quite the issue. I’m not just talking about texting and driving either. Pretty much anything you can think of that would take your eyes off the road can play a part. For instance, talking on the phone, eating and drinking, grooming or reading a map are all different types of distractions. As if these distractions aren’t already bad enough, add in other moving cars, the road, pedestrians, maybe bad weather conditions and you could have a huge problem. Consider all of these potential distractions and more before you get behind the wheel. It only takes a split second for someone to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Each day in the United States, more than nine people are killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in car crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver. There are three main types of distractions. There is visual, which involves taking your eyes off the road. There is manual, which involves taking your hands off the road. And lastly, there is cognitive, which is taking your mind off driving. It’s pretty scary to think about, considering that half the things people do while driving fall under each of the three types of distraction, all in just one task. Consider eating a cheeseburger. Simple right? Well, you take your eyes off the road to unwrap your burger, which is visual. You take your hands off the wheel to eat the burger which is manual. And third, cognitive, you take your mind off of driving while eating the burger since you were probably so hungry you couldn’t even think about anything except getting something into your belly. Trust me, I know the feeling; I’m just as guilty as you. Anyway, as you can see, a simple task such as eating can lead to many of the car accidents each year. In 2013 an estimated 424,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver; this was a nine percent increase from the estimated 387,000 injured in 2011. There are already enough deaths that come from things like war and disease; we could be cutting down by a lot if we were more careful and maybe better educated in our driving.

Texting and driving have become quite the issue too. It just keeps getting worse and worse. With the way technology is growing and all the new ideas and apps, that just gives kids more of a reason to feel the need to be on their phone at all times or they’ll "miss something important" like the new snapchat filters, or the Instagram post they were just tagged in. I know that at that point in time you think that a like or a favorite is the most important thing, but just know it can wait.

There are many ways that distracted driving can be prevented. However, distractions aren’t avoidable but most are manageable. Some include fully focusing on driving, making adjustments to your car and mirror before taking off, eating before you go, putting aside your electronics and finishing grooming before you leave home. The drivers themselves aren’t the only ones causing such distractions. Simple things such as glancing off into the distance to see a loose dog in the neighborhood, a person broadcasting with a sign that says “Pizza! Two for the price of one!”, or perhaps another car off the road. Although these were other things or other people, it still caught our attention, and enough of it for us to take our eyes off the road.

The saying “It won’t ever happen to me.” is a common saying, and most people should start thinking “This COULD happen to me, so I should be a bit more cautious with my actions and choices I make on the road.”

Not everyone believes that being distracted causes bad driving. Some may argue that people are just bad drivers in general. The core problem is that some people are bad drivers, plain and simple, and we don't want to take bad drivers off the road. Whether they have a distraction or not, some folks just aren't cut out for driving. They should be on a bus or in another car with someone else driving. Technically the lawmakers are distracted, not the drivers. If we stopped trying to prevent bad behavior, and started penalizing bad behavior, we might be a bit more successful. People might even take their citizen responsibilities seriously. Let's try to get our lawmakers focused on the real problem, bad drivers.

I believe that people aren’t necessarily bad drivers. But it’s the things around them or the things they are doing instead of fully focusing on driving. I think by putting people in a box and labeling them as “bad drivers” could make matters worse. The world saw how bad texting and driving was and how many people were injured or killed, so they made a law against texting/talking on the phone while driving. It just might be my opinion but I think the fact of getting caught for some people is enough to make them not want to text and drive. When in reality they should be more worried about injuring themselves or others and that should be enough to so call “take the pledge to not text and drive.” People say that it’s not the gun who killed, but the person behind the gun. It’s not the car that killed or got into the accident, it’s the person behind the wheel. I agree with this statement, but sometimes you need to see beyond the statement. It’s true that the person behind the wheel is responsible but that doesn’t mean they can control other cars on the road that might be distracted by talking on the phone or simply not paying attention. People aren’t bad drivers; it’s what’s going on around us and all of the distractions that make the accidents happen.

All in all, don’t be part of the statistic, make good choices, be safe and drive smart.