Five seconds sounds like a short amount of time but it is long enough to cause a fatal accident. In five seconds going 55 miles per hour, a driver travels the length of a football field, according to Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. In those five seconds, a driver’s attention is on their phone and not on the road. In those five seconds, a child could be crossing the street and they don’t see them. In those five seconds, a life could be over.
Many people don’t understand the dangers of using a cell phone while they are driving. According to VTTI, a person’s risk of getting into an accident is increased three times the normal risk when looking for or looking at a cell phone. Cell phones are involved in 1.6 million auto crashes each year and are responsible for a half million injuries and the loss of 6,000 lives, according to the United States Department of Transportation. VTTI also did a study that showed texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a crash than driving while intoxicated.
Teens are the most impaired by distractions when it comes to driving, according to the American Automobile Association. The most common distractions of a teen driver which can lead to an accident as found by AAA include: interacting with one or more passengers (15 percent of crashes), cell phone use (12 percent of crashes), looking at something in the vehicle (10 percent of crashes), and looking at something outside the vehicle (9 percent of crashes), singing and/or moving to music (8 percent of crashes), grooming (6 percent of crashes), and reaching for an object (6 percent of crashes).
Because technology of cell phones has advanced, there are laws that have been created to prevent drivers of using their cell phones. In the state of California, there are four laws fighting against distracted driving. According to the California Highway Safety Association, these laws include: a handheld ban for drivers of all ages, ban on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for bus drivers, band on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for novice drivers, and ban on texting for drivers of all ages.
At San Benito High School, “Every 15 Minutes” was put on by the California Highway Patrol. This program is done to show teens the consequences of driving while intoxicated, texting and driving, and distracted driving, according to its website. This was an eye opening experience for many of the students at the high school. It showed them the harsh reality of distracted driving.
Junior Destinee Rodriguez said that “it’s scary knowing how quickly someone’s life can change because of a phone or loud music being on.” Rodriguez commented how she’s been in a car with a driver who uses their phone while driving and it scares her. She said she tries to tell them to stop, but there’s only so much she can do until it gets to the point where she’s paying more attention than the driver.
A student who preferred to stay anonymous said that they know the risks in using a cellphone while driving but that’s why “I only do it when I know I can.”
Many teenage drivers have the mindset that it’s ok to drive while distracted because they feel invincible. They don’t understand how dangerous it is to be focused on something other than the road, for even a second.
Every second spent on something other than focusing on the road can lead to a fatal accident. It only takes five seconds to lose a life.