Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Technology Scenario

"Kelly just got her driver's license. Her parents allow her to take the car to school and to her part-time job. She enjoys the freedom of being able to drive. One night, her parents allow her to pick up her friend Sally to go to the movies. She begins driving to Sally's house and remembers she wanted to remind her other friend Lisa that they were meeting after the movie. She decides that she can text Lisa and continue to drive to Sally's house. Kelly gets too involved typing the text to Lisa that she does not see the car ahead of her braking. At the last minute, she is able to step on the brakes and stop her car before becoming involved in an accident. Should we be doing distracting behaviours when driving?" (Ribble, 2015).

Source: Ribble, M. (2015) Digital Citizenship in Schools (3rd Edition) International Society for Technology in Education ISBN 9781564843647

A teen girl texting while driving. [Online image]
Retrieved from http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/15862
The above scenario addresses a huge issue that we face in society today. The issue that I am referring to is texting while driving. I have seen so many headlines and news reports about accidents that are a result of driver's texting behind the wheel. I grew up in a world where cell phones are attached to us constantly. Texting while driving is something that I have been guilty of in the past prior to knowing the severe consequences of it and becoming educated on the issue. Now, I do not send, reply, or read texts while driving and I am an advocate who tells my friends and family not to as well. I think the most important thing to do is to continue to educate people about the issue of texting while driving and work to find solutions.

Here, Kelly is no doubt using technology inappropriately. What makes the scenario inappropriate is the timing of her technology use. Kelly makes the decision to send her friend Lisa a quick text message as a reminder to meet up after the movie. When Kelly makes the decision she doesn't only put herself in danger, but she puts other drivers and potential pedestrians in danger as well. Luckily, Kelly braked early enough to avoid a collision but this does not justify her decision to become distracted by sending that text. A different course of action that Kelly could have done was to wait to send the text message until she was parked at her friend Sally's house. If she felt that the text couldn't wait, it would be a safer choice to pull over or drive to the nearest parking lot and park the car before sending the text.

An additional problem with this scenario is that because the collision didn't happen, Kelly probably thinks she can handle texting while driving again. I hope that isn't the case but I do feel that from personal experience a lot of us think we are invincible and have the attitude of I won't let that happen, or that won't happen to me. We need to be smart drivers and smart technology users. Safety is something that should be apparent to everyone, and it should be common practice to not participate in distracting behaviours behind the wheel. Of course this is personal opinion and what I believe to be plain common sense, but it is also an issue that can be supported by multiple facts and real life scenarios where these collisions do happen. 

What are your opinions on texting and driving? Do you agree that many of us think we are invincible and have the mentality that it won't happen to us? Please share your comments to discuss! 
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7 comments:

  1. achalkley8 March 2016 at 17:02

    Brooke,

    I agree with you that this was an inappropriate use of technology given the time Kelly decided to send a text message. I feel as though the teenage mentality is that they are invincible and are naive to the consequences of their actions. I think once someone "successfully" sends a text while driving and nothing bad happens, they feel that they can continue to do it.

    As you are aware, in Ontario we have laws against distracted driving to fine individuals if caught breaking this law. However, I still see individuals texting while driving every single day. Personally, I do not text and drive and never have. This past year, my friend was actually involved in an accident as a result of a young individual texting while driving, they failed to see the red light and t-boned my friend. Luckily my friend suffered moderate injuries from the accident however, the outcome could have been a lot worse. Often, the individual that is acting appropriately on the roads is the one who gets harmed rather than the individual texting while driving.

    Regarding the scenario Kelly should have waited to text her friend until she safely made it to her destination. If for whatever reason she felt the message to be that important she could have safely pulled over and sent the message rather than texting while driving.

    Kind regards,
    Amberley

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    1. Unknown9 March 2016 at 12:41

      Amberley,

      Glad to hear that your friend is okay! I definitely agree that it is typically the individuals who are abiding by the rules that get injured from negligent and distracted drivers. Thanks for sharing your experience with this topic!

      Does anyone think that there are ways we can change the teenage mentality in regards to texting and driving?

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  2. Unknown9 March 2016 at 13:08

    Hi Brooke,

    I agree with you when you say that this is a huge issue in todays society with texting and driving. I believe that this has to do with the responsibility to act safely as she is not only putting herself in danger, but the others around her!

    This is a great scenario to spread around to other people to let them know the dangers about using technology in this way!

    Great Post!
    Julia

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    1. Unknown13 March 2016 at 17:21

      Julia,

      Thank you! I also think that the responsibility of acting in a safe manner is relevant to this scenario.

      Delete
  3. kblenkarn12 March 2016 at 21:54

    Hi Brooke,

    Great post. I totally think this is a huge issue in society. I personally do this and I am trying to stop as it is a terrible thing to do and really could lead to an accident. I think texting and driving is wrong and should not happen as you are distracting yourself from the road but at the same time I think that people are so attached to their phones that they will text whenever. I think this is a great scenario to bring awareness to the topic!
    Kate

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    1. Unknown13 March 2016 at 17:24

      Kate,

      I've been guilty of texting and driving too. I definitely had the mindset that because I always got away with it without an accident that I could handle it but really we can't predict what happens on the roads! Something that helped me stop was having my phone on silent so I would't be tempted to grab my phone if I heard a notification.

      Delete
  4. Unknown14 March 2016 at 11:34

    Hi Brooke,

    I agree with you, Kate, and Julia as Texting and driving is a huge issue in today society. I believe that is an inappropriate use of technology since she is putting herself and others in danger. As she is breaking the responsibility of use technology safely. Thank you for the post it bring awareness to your fellow readers.

    Tyra

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