They text, they tweet, they adjust their radios and turn and talk to the person sitting next to them — Yes, they do all this when they’re driving! A recent survey conducted by Seventeen magazine states that 86 per cent of the teens they interviewed admitted to driving while texting, talking on a phone or doing other distracting things behind the wheel. And ironically, 84 per cent knew it was risky to do these things.
Nineteen-year-old Sanjana Kumar admits to having texted and made/receive calls while driving. “We constantly check our phone when we’re going to meet someone to check if that person is messaging or calling us. Sometimes, we get so involved when talking to the person next to us, that we turn around instead of looking at the road ahead!”
Although she knows it’s dangerous, Sanjana says, she can’t not text someone back when they text her. “If it’s a one or two minute conversation, I do it while driving, but if it’s a long conversation, I stop the car on the side. I know it’s really risky, but I don’t know why I do it!”
Another teenager who admits to being distracted behind the wheels is 19-year-old Geetika Sood. The student of Mount Carmel College, who has been driving since eight months, says, “I text and receive calls when there are no traffic cops around. Once, I was even caught talking on the phone while driving and ended up paying a fine. If you know your routes, I guess it’s okay to talk on the phone, but if you don’t know routes, you need to be careful.”
The radio is something she doesn’t find distracting while driving. “As long as your station is set to the particular frequency and you don’t adjust the radio while driving, it’s fine. People should use headphones or loudspeaker when on the phone - it’s better than holding in the phone in your hand,” says Geetika, who adds that even the boys are distracted while driving.
Even a causal conversation with the person in the passenger seat can be distracting, believes student Vishvas Deo. “The road discipline in India is so bad. Lane discipline is important. A strong stand should be taken against mobile phone usage while driving,” he says, adding, “Teens text a lot, some even do it without looking at their phone. Their priority at that moment becomes ‘texting’, so obviously they get distracted.”
The survey also states that there is a change in the attitude of teens when they are in the passenger seat. Around 38 percent said that they’ve been afraid they would get hurt in a car because the driver was distracted by doing something else. Agrees Sanjana, “When you’re driving, you flout the rules. But when in the passenger seat, you tend to worry if the driver is distracted.
So, remember even a second of distraction can lead to a disaster. It’s better to be safe than sorry!