This task was to create a campaign to inform people on the dangers of an issue associated with young drivers. The campaign was mainly targeted to young drivers. I chose distracted driving, in particular driving while on phones. This is because the use and addiction of mobile devices is prominent in younger people when compared to other ages such as 40 or 50 year old’s. My goal is to reduce the number of crashes, deaths, and injuries suffered from distracted driving and make the road a safer place for all.
My poster:
What I learnt
At the RAC, I learnt about the harsh reality of how many drivers use their phone whilst in the car and how many fatalities and crashes that can cause. Despite being warned about the dangers beforehand by my parents and other experienced drivers seeing those statistics really shocked me and I knew that I should never text whilst driving because I don’t want to put myself, those I am driving and others on the road in danger.
My advice
Always concentrate on the road. I would pass this advice on because although you see your parents or guardians talking or doing other things whilst driving when you first get on the road there are many distractions, especially as a younger, less experienced driver. There are some you can’t control such as other cars and then there are the distractions you can control such as the passengers or your phone. I learnt that by taking your eyes off the road for simply 2 seconds you can cross a lot of distance and without the experience you could swerve or not see a red light which could hurt you or others.
My pledge
When I start driving I pledge to never pick up my phone or be distracted by it, never let passengers distract me and always be in the best mindset and be 100% focused when going out onto the road.
I picked these things to commit to because apart from following the road rules, avoiding these distractions will keep me and others safe. The phone, especially in my generation is always a great distraction and from my research I found how easy it was to crash when you pick it up. Loud or backseat driving passengers can also be really distracting, if your head is just filled with them talking, you could not hear a siren or a horn beeping, your mind would also not be completely focused on the road. Finally, I pledged to always be in the best mindset, this includes not being tired, because this can cause accidents, not being angry, because this could result in unnecessary road rage which could lead to crashes, and not being under the influence of other substances such as alcohol, because this can worsen your reaction time and peripheral vision which is dangerous. If I had done any of these things my mind could be sluggish, and my reactions slowed but also I could let my emotions take control and take them out on the road making my driving reckless and then endangering myself.
I know that I can commit to these things whilst driving because they are small things that I can check with myself before I get into the car. I do this by having a small mental checklist to go through before I even get into the driver’s seat and always completing these tasks in order to make sure I am fit to drive. My motivation for this would be making sure I am keeping myself and the others in my car and on the road safe from what is in my control, to prevent accidents.