The month of April is designated as Distracted Driving Month. Distracted driving is defined as driving a motor vehicle while engaged in other activities, especially with a cell phone or another electronic device.

According to statistics, 1.3 million car crashes involved the use of cell phones in 2011. In Florida alone, there was almost one crash a day caused by distracted driving last year, a total of more than 45,000.

Even more shockingly, 34% of teens in America admit to texting while driving, while 52% admit to talking on the phone while driving, and most do not see it an issue. 77% of young adults claim they are confident of texting and driving, and 55% say it is easy to text and drive.

The dangers of texting and driving go far beyond a quick glance off the road, however. It has been reported that 1 out of 4 motor crashes involved a cell phone and texting while driving is 6 times more likely to cause a crash than drunk driving. Even while glancing at a phone while driving for 5 seconds, a driver going 55 mph will travel the length of a football field.

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Worship team leader Daniel Garrison is one of many adults who have struggled with texting and driving, but has found ways to amend it. With technology advancements, Garrison enjoys the use of hand-free devices.

“Back in the day, when I had my old car, I would try and drive with my knee caps while texting, trying to get word by word in,” Garrison said. “It was super sketchy, to say the least. I wasn’t really comfortable doing it, but then this magical thing called Bluetooth came out and I decided to use that instead.”

Ways to stop texting and driving, especially with teenagers on the road, is with parental control. Parents can install a drivecam in the teen’s car to monitor activity with real-time feedback, or download an anti-texting and driving app available for Androids and Blackberrys through AT&T.

If teens have an iPhone, they can always use Siri (voice command) instead of texting on the road. They won’t have to type anything, all they have to speak it, it’s fabulous. Hopefully at the time my son is on the road, he’ll have a car with Bluetooth in which he can connect his phone to it rather than staring at a screen. My advice to everyone on the road is that multitasking is not a good choice while driving. -Daniel Garrison

Claire Kollenkark, ‘16, is a recent driver, having obtained her license at the beginning of the school year. Kollenkark says she is already experiencing temptations of distracted driving.

“I admit, I have texted and driven before,” Kollenkark said. “I did see the danger of it when I did it and it truly distracts you from what the other drivers are doing on the road.”

The driver can also prevent themselves from distracted driving as well. Simple safety tips include a designated texting passenger, stowing phones in a purse or glove compartment, pulling over on the road, or practicing patience. Not only will these tips possibly spare drivers a hefty ticket, but might also spare lives.

As a new father and from experience, Garrison hopes his son and other young drivers will prevent themselves from texting and driving in the future.

“If teens have an iPhone, they can always use Siri (voice command) instead of texting on the road,” Garrison said. “They won’t have to type anything, all they have to speak it, it’s fabulous. Hopefully at the time my son is on the road, he’ll have a car with Bluetooth in which he can connect his phone to it rather than staring at a screen. My advice to everyone on the road is that multitasking is not a good choice while driving.”

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