Challenge needed to stop young drivers texting
Scan traffic anywhere and you’ll catch them. Drivers with their phones held furtively to their ear or with their heads down tapping away while waiting at a red light. More terrifying is catching them speeding by you on a 100 km/ h highway.
Or maybe you aren’t just catching them — maybe you’re one of them. You’re a busy parent late for daycare, a teenager making weekend plans, a business person cutting a deal; for whatever reason, you need to make one quick call, send one short text. It’ll take only a few seconds, really. No harm done. You’re fooling yourself, of course. When drivers take their eyes off the road to glance at a beeping phone, hands off the wheel to tap out a text or let their minds wander in traffic, they’re placing themselves and others at risk. This risk has increased in lockstep with cellphone use in vehicles, especially texting.
Bans that inflict punishment for cellphone use are one way governments have to address this risk. This is why we have supported the B. C. government’s efforts, but we have also always made the case that bans are but one tool that has limitations. Now we need a strong public education campaign to convince drivers to drive without distractions, not just because they might get caught if they don’t but because it’s the right thing to do and a societal norm.
Think back to the “Buckle Up Baby” campaigns. When child car seats first went on the market in the 1960s, they didn’t sell because parents didn’t understand the risks their children were exposed to and didn’t want to spend the money.
Then came the regulations in the 1970s and 1980s, accompanied by a massive public education campaign that involved the medical community, insurance companies and consumer groups, along with government.
The combination of regulation and education worked. In addition, our mindset has shifted completely. We’re moving in the right direction.
Many organizations, including the Insurance Bureau of Canada, Canadian Automobile Association, the B. C. Road Safety Foundation, the RCMP, the Canadian Medical Association and the B. C. Medical Association have all made efforts to educate drivers.
At the Insurance Bureau of Canada, we have material on our website dedicated specifically to this issue. IBC also has a popular DUMB ( Distractions Undermining Motorist Behaviour) car exhibit, which tours the country and educates people about the issue of distracted driving.
Unfortunately, tech- savvy young drivers often have the most difficulty resisting the siren call of the beeping, buzzing cellphone.
But it’s also young drivers who have embraced the concepts of the designated driver and zero alcohol tolerance when driving.
Let’s encourage young drivers to take on the challenge of reducing distracted driving among their peers just as they’ve taken on the challenge to reduce drinking and driving with “safe grads” and “I promise” campaigns.
Let’s set the right example, starting with making a pledge to turn the cellphone off before turning the key in the ignition.
You wouldn’t take a quick swig behind the wheel, so don’t take a phone call.