Every day I open my Snapchat to the usual array of stories: people sharing their latest work and school selfies, fancy dinners, watching full expensive concerts for free, a night out in town with friends, dogs and cats galore (my personal favorite stories to watch) among other day-to-day activities. All these aside, there is one type of story that I seem to notice happen on a near-daily basis that I am not very fond of — a glimpse of the sunrise or sunset and everything in between, a song playing on the radio or from the aux cable connected to their phone or a steering wheel moving slightly left and right. Nearly every day, I open stories and notice that nearly a third of my Snapchat friends tend to snap and drive, an act that may seem harmless and even easy to some at first, but anything can happen in a split second.
What happens if the phone drops? What if you're is so focused on getting the perfect shot of sky or making sure one is recording the song verse that matches one’s current mood that the focus on the road and surrounding cars is lost?
Each year, many teens and young adults are involved in car accidents that either injure or kill themselves and/or others. Distracted driving caused the injury of about 391,000 people and the deaths of 3,477 in 2015. Even if you take a look at your phone for any reason for five seconds, it is the equivalent of driving with your eyes closed the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour. If even something as simple as eating a sandwich while driving can cause an accident, imagine driving while trying to film yourself talking to your Snapchat audience?
As a young adult myself, it’s completely understandable that it’s difficult to put down the phone at times. But where do we cross the line to our phone addiction? When do we finally say, “This action that I am doing may harm myself or others?" Something that may look cool can turn harmful or even deadly in a matter of seconds. Let’s be real here, no one really cares about what song you are listening to or that the car in front of you has an “I love my (insert same dog breed as you have)” bumper sticker. Everyone has the right to post whatever they choose to on Snapchat, but ranting about your day while driving is simply not the safest way to do so. Take the time to get home or school or work safely, and then proceed with the Snapchat rant or song of the day.
Doing it because “everyone else does it” or “it looks cool” is not the way to go, especially during this holiday season of increased distracted driving due to the excitement of being home or those who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
For Pete's sake y'all, Put. The. Phone. Away.
