By Lindsey Schibelhut, Staff Reporter.
A cellphone-related accident occurs every 24 seconds, according to the National Safety Council. Over the past few decades, distracted driving has not only increased, but has also changed. We used to be worried about people eating behind the wheel of a car, putting on makeup or falling asleep; but, now with the advent of modern technology, distracted driving fears have switched to cellphones. According to www.nsc.org “An Estimated 1 in 4 Car Crashes Involves Cell Phone Use.” Little did I know I would end up being another statistic in the battle against distracted driving
The morning of Nov. 2, should have started out like any other, yet was anything but typical. I left around 7:30 a.m. I crossed over a bridge close to my house. I pulled out my phone as I was coasting to the stop light ahead to stare at a Facebook message regarding paper distribution. Unbeknownst to me, traffic was backing up. I had my foot on the brake, but I wasn’t pressing hard enough. By the time I looked up it was too late – the damage was done. At the moment of impact the hood of my car crumpled like an aluminum can.
Luckily, the woman’s car had minimal damage, a fleck of paint came off of her bumper and that was all; my car, however, was totaled.
I ended up with a ticket (deserved) that ended up costing me $190 and a towing bill that cost my friend (who came to help) $188 all because I made the decision to pay attention to my phone over the road. Monetary lessons weren’t the only things I learned from this experience either.
1. Cops have the right to lie to you
When the officer issued my ticket he asked if I had AAA road service. The officer volunteered to call AAA for me so a wrecker could tow my car. I offered him my AAA card but he said “No, no.” I thought that was weird, but let it pass. While talking to the tow truck driver I was surprised to hear it would cost me $188.50. The tow should have been free. As it turns out, the local police department has a contract with the towing company that was called. The police officer lied to me and instead called the towing company of his choosing because of kickbacks. My friend who took one of Delta’s criminal justice courses told me that in fact a police officer does have the right to lie to you. Be smart – call AAA (or any other roadside service first before the cop offers to do it for you.
2. Don’t trust your wrecker driver
Apparently wrecker drivers who are in on the police department kickbacks can also mislead you too. During this ordeal the wrecker driver was trying to lead me to believe that the reason my tow was not free was because my car was only on PLPD insurance. He said that, if my car had been fully insured, my tow would have been free of charge. My mother found out by calling AAA that that was also a lie. Whether you have PLPD or are fully insured, as long as AAA is called and you are within five miles of the towing drop off destination, your tow is free. If this ever happens to you luckily AAA has a reimbursement form you can fill out and hopefully you’ll get your money back.
3. Distracted driving is a leading cause of car accidents
Before this experience, I never fully realized how much of a problem distracted driving is in our society. Too many times people think they can multitask behind the wheel. I’m here to tell you it’s not possible. After doing much research on the subject of distracted driving the only focus anyone should have while in a car is driving itself; no one should be playing on their cellphone or the radio, eating, drinking, putting on makeup or doing anything that is going to take your attention away from the road. It only takes milliseconds.
4. You are not invincible
Many times I think people who have manipulated their phones while behind the wheel think that an accident could never happen to them – I never did either. As a general rule I try to avoid handling my phone while driving. I’ve heard of different texting and driving tragedies, people dying over something as dumb as a text message that read “Hi.” I never wanted to be that stupid – to be a statistic. As I stood at the accident scene looking at my mangled car I was thinking of all the scenarios that could have happened: I could have been hurt/killed, I could have hurt/killed the person in front of me, I could have started a chain reaction of car accidents behind or in front of me. If I had done this on a residential street, I could have run someone over. Looking at a Facebook message wasn’t worth my life, someone else’s or the destruction of property. Accidents happen when you put other things in front of your main responsibility – being in control of the vehicle you are operating. You are not invincible. If you’re driving distracted it’s only a matter of time before it will catch up to you.
5. Recovering is a process
I’ve now begun the process of looking for a different car with my parents. When it came to test driving, it was hard to get back behind the wheel – I feared getting into another crash. Even though my distraction by the cellphone was the cause, I haven’t stopped questioning my driving abilities. In the days since, I have had nightmares regarding the crash. Like a tape-deck the scene replayed over and over in my head on why I chose to look at my phone, on what I should/could have done differently, on what more I should have said to the woman I hit and on how I disappointed my parents. The only thing I can say is that I walked away from this experience more educated, cautious and took it as a much needed growing up life lesson.
