In the United States, growing awareness of traffic deaths has highlighted the ongoing danger on the road. Despite major safety improvements such as seatbelts, airbags, and stronger vehicle designs, risky driving behaviors continue to put lives at risk, especially among young drivers.
On April 9, students in Professor Beverly Stauffer’s Introduction to Public Health course at Eastern Mennonite University explored how traffic safety has changed over time and how these issues directly affect college students. The class was divided into four groups, and each group developed key points to educate their peers about the dangers of texting while driving and ways to prevent it.
Students investigated the real-life consequences of distracted driving. In Virginia alone, there were 18,688 crashes involving distracted driving in 2024, resulting in 10,222 injuries and 73 deaths (Virginia DMV). To address this issue, Virginia law prohibits drivers from holding a handheld device while driving, with fines of $125 for a first offense and $250 for subsequent offenses. Despite these laws, students noted that distracted driving remains a serious problem, particularly among young drivers who may underestimate the risks.
Texting while driving is illegal in Virginia and is considered a primary offense. This behavior is especially dangerous because it involves cognitive, manual, and visual distractions at the same time, taking a driver’s eyes, hands, and attention away from the road. At 55 miles per hour, a driver who looks at a text for just five seconds travels the length of a football field without looking (NHTSA). Even a brief distraction can quickly become life-threatening.
In addition to identifying the problem, students suggested practical solutions to reduce distracted driving. They recommended using features such as “Do Not Disturb While Driving” or activating the driving focus mode on phones to limit distractions. Other strategies include placing phones in the glove box, back seat, or trunk, using a phone mount for navigation, or pulling over safely if a message cannot wait. They also emphasized the importance of passengers speaking up and parents setting a positive example by avoiding phone use while driving.
Students further discussed how incentives can encourage safer driving habits. For example, programs like State Farm’s Drive Safe & Save reward drivers with insurance discounts of up to 30% based on safe driving behaviors such as smooth braking, controlled speed, and limited phone use. These types of programs show that safe driving can also have financial benefits.
Overall, the students concluded that distracted driving can be reduced through a combination of awareness, education, technology, and law enforcement. By making safer choices and encouraging others to do the same, college students can play an important role in preventing accidents and saving lives.
