Teen drivers attempt to stay focused and off their phones while on the road

Every day, 11 American teens die as a result of texting while driving.  

Fatal crashes due to distracted driving is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, according to the New York Times, in the first six months of 2016 there was a 10.4 percent increase of highway collisions in comparison to 2015.

Despite an effort to increase awareness of distracted driving, the majority of teens are still on their phone, eating, drinking or doing their makeup while driving.

Junior Jasen Mansfield says he falls in the middle of the distracted driving spectrum. Although Mansfield primarly stays off his phone while driving its still a challenge. “Whenever I do go on my phone, I have gotten in the bad habit of steering with my knees,” he says.

Junior Melanie Stone believes distracted driving is dependent on traffic. “It can be difficult to stay off your phone when your commute is long. However I make sure to only do it at a dead stop,” she said.  

If everybody is aware of the dangers of texting and driving, why do they still do it? Junior Ty Maider believes it’s just a bad habit that is hard to break, “I know going on my phone while driving is dangerous, but I feel like if I wait then I might miss out on if I didn’t check my phone,” Maider said.

Although the norm appears to be distracted driving, there is another side to the story.

Senior Jen Wen says that she rarely checks her phone while driving. “If something is truly important, people can either text me or leave me a voicemail and it’ll be there when I’m done driving,” Wen said.

Unlike Wen lots of teens think that it’s okay if they text and drive because they feel they can multitask, when in reality drivers under the age of 20 are four times more likely than adults to get into car crashes while on their phone.

Although there is no way to fully stop students from getting distracted we can all take a few easy steps. “I think putting your phone in the back seat before driving, not rushing and being more aware of it are easy ways to prevent distracted drivings,” Stone said.

Along with many adults, Stone believes putting phones in the glove compartment or in the back and turning off the ringer is the first step to prevent distracted driving.

By Melissa Funes