The Truth About Cell Phones and Teen Drivers From a Multi-Tasking Motorist
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By Claire FitzSimmonds

According to a report from the National Safety Council, using a cell phone in a car is as distracting and dangerous as being slightly intoxicated, but this is not true, at least not for wonderful multi-taskers like me.

Just like you, my parents advised me about the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. Never use the phone, they said, except in rare emergencies.

Listening to them, I thought maybe I would sort of attempt to not use my cell phone for very long while driving in areas I was completely unfamiliar with.

Then, I got my license and hopped into the minivan my parents were kindly letting me use until I could afford my own car. Right away, my phone went off. It was too hard to resist.

Now, while driving, I use my cell phone all the time – calling, talking texting, fumbling for it in the front seat.

You see, I’m too busy, doing too many things, while I am driving, to pay much attention to the actual act of driving.

At any given moment, I may be fixing my hair, looking for something in the backseat, thinking about the latest drama among my friends, shuffling through my CD collection to find a song that applies to the situation.

And then my phone rings. And it could be important.

Add to my list of driving activities -- deftly fumbling through the huge sack I refer to as a purse, frantically searching for my phone. Luckily, as I said, I am quite the multi-tasker, so this is not dange….swerve

And I have not even answered the silly thing yet.

And that’s when the real trouble starts, according to the Safety Council report. Using a hand-held or hands-free phone matters little. It’s the conversation itself that distracts the driver, creating danger.

Even an adept multi-tasker like myself may have to agree with that.
Last summer, I was stopped at a red light, chatting with a friend. We are actually not on the phone. He is visiting from out-of-town, and we have not seen each other in a while.

We jokingly bicker about something random and unimportant.
“Austin,” I chastise. “You have to…”
“You have to go when the light turns green!” he interrupts, shouting, frustrated, waving at the now green light.

I would have noticed the light turn if I had not been so focused on our conversation, I explain to him. It is just that our conversation was very…distracting.

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Four years ago, a family friend’s daughter, Bethany, died in a car accident. She had been drinking, lost control of her car and went off the road.

I did not know Bethany, but in the days after her death, I was a model of safe driving. I drove the speed limit; I changed lanes only when I needed to; I slowed down at yellow lights. And I did not use my cell phone.

I will not say that now, years later, I never use my cell phone while driving or never drive too fast, but I do try to be more aware of how I am driving.

This is a lesson that is only learned with time and experience though, and I do not think it is something kids who have just gotten their license generally even want to understand.

I’m not saying the answer is waiting until your child loses a friend or gets huge, expensive tickets to become a safer, more focused driver, but these things were the answer for me.

I do have one other piece of advice. Do not fall for the trick your child will eventually try to play. It is the oldest one in our book.

You are going to call your child soon, and she will happen to be driving. If she answers, she will say, “Mom! I can’t talk right now. I’m driving.” Or, if she does not answer, when she gets home, she will say, “Sorry, Dad. I couldn’t answer. I was driving.”

Your heart will swell with pride. Don’t be fooled. She was probably on the other line when you called. But she figured this is a chance to impress you. “I really am a safe driver,” is the message.

After all, she is not allowed to talk on the phone while she drives.
As for me, my parents are just relieved that I am over 18 now, no longer need to be accompanied to driving schools and am fairly responsible.

And I am just amused that my 15-year-old brother is about to get his permit.

Claire FitzSimmonds
Lexington Family Magazine Intern