Texting and driving. Tweeting and driving. Talking and driving. Putting on make-up and driving. Eating a Big Mac and driving. Drinking and driving. Pretending nobody exists on the highway except me and driving. I am so sick of "____ and driving." The only thing that should be filling the blank in "____ and driving" should be the word driving. Honestly, has everyone just forgotten that our cars are 1000-lb death machines? How many more ads do we need on TV that feature sad piano music and tragic stories about loved ones being killed by someone too busy taking a selfie to be bothered with paying attention to the road for it to sink in?
Somebody tell me, what does it take to get you to put down your phone while you drive? I could fill this article with about five paragraphs of nothing but statistics, like how many people are killed by distracted driving, how texting and driving is actually worse for your reaction time than drunk driving, percentages showing how adults 25+ actually text and drive more than us youths ages 16-24, but I honestly don't think it would matter. I could write 800 words of pure emotion, painting a vivid mental picture of the twisted metal and lost loved ones and the pain all caused by one driver who got distracted with posting a clever new hashtag, but that has been done before countless times on TV, billboards, and school assemblies for high school kids. And yet, people still refuse to give their full attention to the road when barreling down the highway at 70 mph. So please, tell me, what does it take?
It's not just distracted driving that absolutely drives me up the wall though; there are plenty of other stupid things drivers constantly do that have nothing to do with a smartphone. For example, completely ignoring the fact that all cars are equipped with a device known as a "turn indicator." These inventions are amazing because they actually allow you to let everybody else know when you are about to cut them off in traffic. Which leads me to another thing -- if you have already discovered the turn indicator, it is not a "get out of jail free" card. You do not have the right to weave through rush hour traffic at 85 mph just because you signal as you cut people off. There is also "tailgating," which solves absolutely nothing. It actually makes traffic slower and endangers you and everyone around you. Why is it so difficult to just sit tight, drive at, or at least around, the speed limit, signal when you switch lanes, and just be a normal, courteous driver?
This rant could go on and on, but my point is simple: you share the road with hundreds of people. This means that driving is one aspect of your life that absolutely cannot be selfish. Because the truth is that, even if you're totally safe in your cocoon of amazing modern engineering and safety technology, the girl in the 1990 civic you just t-boned because you were too focused crafting the perfect text message is going to be hurt pretty badly. And honestly, if her life means less to you than sending texts and tweets as soon as you possibly can, then sell your car, shred your driver's license, and call a cab.
