Texting and Driving

Texting and driving is not an option. Although teens yearn to know the latest gossip from their group message or see the newest tweet, teens often wait to respond or ignore a message if they are falling asleep or focusing on another activity. The amount of deaths and accidents related to texting and driving is far too high. Teens need to be present and that is one of the major drawbacks of technology. Texting and driving has defeated drinking and driving as the leader of teen deaths per year as stated by a company called Texting Thumb Bands. Teens crave an incentive for all of their actions, whether it is taking out the trash or waiting to text someone back as they drive home from school. The best possible way to promote safe driving and prevent distracted driving from mobile phone use is to create an attachable compartment to the vehicle to hold the device. This compartment would be approximately six to seven inches long in order to fit the larger smart phones on the market. Once the phone is placed inside the compartment and plugged into a universal port, similar to that of a headphone jack, the phone would use technology to temporarily become disabled. The parents and/or guardians of the teen driver would be able to access the location of the phone with the use of tracking programs that already exist in the form of an application or website. The sounds and vibrations of the device would not function while it is plugged in. However, in the case of an emergency, the guardians would be able to send a unique sound to alert the driver to pull over and turn off the vehicle so they may look at their device. The sound would be distinct to the compartment as to not confuse the driver. The compartment would become locked when the engine is started and remain locked as long as the engine is running. The compartment would alert the driver repeatedly, like when the driver does not buckle their seat belt, if the compartment does not register that the mobile phone has been placed inside. If this occurs and the driver ignores said alert, a notification would be sent to the guardian of the driver. As an incentive for the family to install the compartment, besides the obvious safety feature, there would be a discount on their automobile insurance. Most teens do have to pay for some if not all of their own automobile insurance for their vehicle. This incentive would give teens a reason to use the compartment. Not only would they satisfy their parents be safer for everyone on the road, but they would save themselves money. Texting while driving is banned throughout the world in a variety of countries with a price of upwards of $600 per infraction as reported by Cellular News. All in all, the use of a compartment, similar to the described, would allow and promote safety on the roads and reiterate the dangers of texting and using technology while operating a vehicle. By using this compartment and preventing texting related accidents, teens can save money and lives.

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