My fellow teen drivers,

We all know the feeling when you are cruising down the road, music on, windows down, feeling free and then all of a sudden your phone right beside you beeps or buzzes. You are suddenly overcome with the urge to pick up and check your phone, as if it is the only thing that matters. You think, “I’m a good driver, even though I’ve been driving for a few months, I’m skilled enough to quickly answer a text.”

Reality check, you’re wrong. 55% of young adults believe it is easy to text and drive yet a whopping 77% of teens think they can safely text and drive. Wrong again. Texting and driving makes you 23 times more likely to be in a crash. Drivers think they can text quick, but in driving standards, quick has a totally different meaning. The average time the driver takes his or her eyes off the road is 5 seconds. On a 55 mph road, that the distance of a football field. Quick? Wrong. Instead it is simply dangerous.

Nearly half of all kids have been in the car while their parents text and drive. Just because adults do it doesn’t make it any safer. In fact, it adds to the other distractions in the car, including the life of their precious child. Also, 10 states and the capital have outlawed any handheld cell phone while driving. Not only is texting and driving a major risk, it is against the law.

Are you part of the 35% of teens that have said they’ve texted while driving? Do you justify your actions by responses such as “Reading a text is safer than writing one, or if I hold the phone closer to the windshield I can see the road better, or I’ll just increase my following distance, or I only text at a stop light?” These justifications are inaccurate because they don’t work. Texting while driving slows your reaction time up to 20% and is also the same as driving after having four beers. Don’t be one of the 1,600,000 accidents a year due to driving while intexticated.
So my fellow drivers, as you are out on the roads make sure your main concern is getting to your desired location safely, not answering your best friend about a silly question. It can wait. Your life is worth more than a text. It can wait. Resist the temptation of reaching for your phone while in the car. It can wait.