I'm sure a lot of people have had some sort of education on texting and driving. Whether it be in a driver's ed class or an assembly at school, most of us have heard the devastating impacts of what using our phones and driving can have.
I always said I would never text and drive. However, I now find myself looking at my phone when I'm at a red light and quickly answering a text or sending a snapchat. In my head, it's always "well I'm at a red light and the car isn't moving". But at the end of the day, that doesn't matter. I'm still in a car and I'm the one driving.
Recommended for you
Nothing is so important that you have to answer back right away. As a human race, we have this idea that bad things happen, but they'll never happen to us.
I saw a video that really made me think about this topic. Hearing these teenagers reasons for looking at their phone made me cringe until I realized that some of their excuses, were the same as mine.
No one likes to talk about something that can cause so much harm because it is scary. People don't like to talk about the things that scare us. But when your decisions impact other people's lives, it's something that needs to be discussed.
Growing up, we always say, "we'll never text and drive" but here we are... texting and driving. I know not everyone who drives does this but clearly enough people do because according to Stop Texts, Stop Wrecks over 3,000 people were killed in car accidents involving distracted drivers in 2013. I don't think anyone truly understands the consequences to their actions until it's too late. Until you're in an accident and severely hurt yourself or someone else because of texting and driving.
I promise nothing is ever worth looking at your phone while driving. Not even if there's a rare Pokemon around. Pokemon Go has tempted players to play the game while driving so they can catch rare Pokemon or hatch eggs. To catch a Pokemon, you have to aim a pokeball at the Pokemon which means looking down at your phone for a significant amount of time, which is obviously dangerous and distracting. Sure it only takes seconds to catch a pokemon or send a text, but it only takes seconds to get into an accident.
No text, Pokemon or snapchat is worth putting your life and the lives of everyone around you at risk while driving. Don't say, "oh it won't happen to me" because if you're not focused on the road and your surroundings, it could. Is it really a risk you want to take?
I urge all of you to take the It Can Wait Pledge to always keep your eyes on the road, not your phone.
Driving is a privilege that we all have, not a right.
