Anytime I watch my un-viewed “Snap Stories” on Snapchat, it always amazes me how many people post ones while driving. The pictures or videos aren't taken at a red light or when pulled over to the curb, but while speeding on the highway or even on a side street where many people may be crossing. This has quickly become one of my pet-peeves and I am surprised people need a reminder not to do it in 2016.
Starting from elementary school, we were taught that texting and driving can be fatal. Not only is it illegal, it is also extremely dangerous. It not only puts your life at risk but also the lives of those around you. Snapchatting and driving are no better than this. While it may seem obvious, I feel as if people forget that it can be just as harmful. Either they forget, or they simply do not care.
When we educate our youth about not using their phones while driving, a major part that is left out of the discussion is the growing trend of teens recording themselves on Snapchat while driving. After all, the videos can only be 10 seconds long — how much damage can that really do, right? Well, any form of phone usage while driving is a distraction that leads to many deaths each year. According to Distraction, 3,179 people died in 2014 due to accidents related to distracted driving. This is not just limited to texting, but also watching videos or using other forms of social media.
Many people have the idea that they are invincible. They think that recording one video of them lip-syncing to “One Dance” in their car won’t do any damage. The truth is that the road in front of them changes every second and just looking away for one second can cause a multitude of problems.
It grinds my gears to no end that people prioritize putting a video on their Snapchat over protecting themselves and others. By doing this, you are basically saying that you don’t mind if your loved one in the car with you gets hurt, someone in a car near you gets hurt or a pedestrian gets hurt.
Life is far too fragile to mess around with. The attitudes that many young drivers have of being totally carefree need to be changed. It won’t kill you to put your phone down for a few minutes. Trust me, a snap is not that important.
