"STOP, LAUREN, LOOK OUT."

These screams of fear from my three brothers was my wake up call.

I was just finishing up a text as I drove off the road and nearly rammed into a tree on the curb of my street. In that moment, waves of fear and panic hit me like a truck. But the most overwhelming emotion was the guilt that immediately rushed through me. I had just put not only my own life, but my brothers lives at risk as well.

Many of us at one point or another have been guilty of texting and driving whether it was just one time or every day. According to a poll done by the American Automobile Association, 94% of teens are aware of the risks of texting and driving, but 35% of them continue to do it. Every single day, 11 teens die as a result of texting and driving. Eleven. That means 11 people could still be alive today if they had just waited to send that last text until they arrived at their destination.

There are multiple other ways to contact someone while you're driving if the situations calls for that. Take advantage of your cell phone. It was made to make calls, so why not give someone an old-fashioned phone call? This is one, legal, way to talk to someone while driving for those who are over 18.

Siri is also an acceptable alternative to texting and driving. Most of us have iPhones and it would be silly not to take advantage of what it offers to us. When you are sending a text, increase the amount of time your eyes are not on the road by 400%. So if you really need to get that text out, just ask Siri to type it out for you.

Siri can also help you get directions while you're driving. Many of us spend a lot of time looking at our phone in order to see which way to go while we are driving. While this is necessary for some people, it is just as dangerous as texting. You still have to look down at your phone and read it, all while decreasing the time you look at the road by 400%. With Siri you can simply ask her to look up a location and route it for you. You could get all the way to your destination without even looking down at your phone.

When you sit down in the drivers seat, the lives of all your passengers are in your hands. That's a pretty big responsibility if you think about it. Eleven people died today and eleven more will die tomorrow as a result of texting and driving. The amount of deaths and accidents have reached epidemic proportions, but the good part about this is the fact that all of the accidents can be prevented. It's important to be proactive every time you drive. So put down the phone next time you get behind the wheel, and don't wait for your wake up call.