There are no do-overs in life. Speak up when your driver drives distracted. You can save lives.
Many teens are not aware of just how powerful they are. When you are a passenger in your parents’, friends’, or other family members’ cars, you have an opportunity to keep yourself and others in the vehicle safe. Despite the fact that distracted driving continues to cause traumatic injuries and deaths, many teens are still hesitant to speak up when they notice their drivers driving distracted.
In life, we do not always get second chances or do-overs. It is important that we speak up when we see unsafe driving. Enddd.org hopes to persuade teens to speak up with confidence.
When teens take action against distracted driving, they are helping to change societal norms so that eventually, distracted driving will become unacceptable at all times. The more teens can feel empowered to say something when they don’t feel safe due to distracted driving, the closer we will come to reducing the number of injuries and deaths resulting from distracted driving.
How to Speak Up Against Distracted Driving?
Many teens are hesitant to say something when they see their drivers driving distracted. And who could blame them? The driver should always be driving as safely as possible. But this could be your only chance to save your life, the driver’s, and others. Gather every ounce of confidence you have and speak up against distracted driving when you see it.
Are you worried about what to say or how to voice your concerns?
Studies have shown that teens can help to reduce distracted driving by speaking up respectfully with their drivers. Teens who use “I” statements have been shown to be incredibly effective in preventing drivers from distracted driving.
Even simply voicing your concerns to the driver by saying something to the effect of “I do not feel safe when you drive me and look at your phone instead of the roads“ could be enough for your driver to realize how serious and dangerous distracted driving is.
If you are a teen, be prepared to speak up and say something when you see your driver driving distracted. Remember, this could be your only chance.
Isabella Scipioni
Isabella Scipioni is a sophomore at Fordham University Lincoln Center and is majoring in political science. She is originally from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and is currently an Assistant Social Media Editor for the Fordham Observer.
