Esmeralda Figueroa
Photographer/Journalist
"My 66y6 fyi yt?"
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"Let's Go Watch the Avengers Tonight"
By Esmeralda Figueroa
i Am going 3 mph and somehow manage to almost crash into bright safety cones. Multiple times. While texting. In a police cart.
“It’s OK,” I say, amidst laughter from outside. “We’ll live.”
California State University Police Officer Karlton Bridgewaters held on to his seat as I “careened” at a snail’s pace.
Professor Robert Quezada’s Comm 334 class (Feature Article Writing) participated in a texting and driving simulation. Orange safety cones are set up in a U-turn in a small section of a CSUF back parking lot.
Friday, April 27, 2018- The safety cones are set up in a U-turn position for the texting and driving simulation.
The rule: no going over 10 mph.
The goal: to text a message while driving in a controlled environment.
The text: “Let’s go watch the Avengers tonight.”
Vania Pocasangre, a classmate, and I had purposely not volunteered to go first. Or second. Or third. And so on until we found ourselves last.
“I’m really nervous. I don’t have my license. I’m still learning to drive,” Vania said.
Which is how I found myself bounding into the police cart and strapping on the seat belt, Vania in the backseat.
I opened up my text conversation with my best friend Noemi Quezada (not related to the professor, just a mere coincidence). I figured I would be able to text something to send her. She’d probably think nothing of it. If I managed the whole text, then it would just seem like a plan to actually go watch the new Avengers movie. If I didn’t manage the whole text, then no real loss. I’d explain and we’d laugh about it later.
But I never got the chance.
To text the message, I mean.
In my struggle to balance texting and driving, I almost hit several cones. But not just any cones.
“Pretend these cones are kindergartners on their way to Disneyland,” Quezada had said.
It didn’t help matters that the preschool-aged children in the CSUF Children's Center right next to us were yelling. Really made the simulation all that more real.
According to the DMV, more than a quarter of all car accidents in 2014 were related to cell phone use. And in 2015, 42% of teens admitted to texting while driving despite knowing the risks, despite knowing they are endangering not only their own lives but also of those around them.
Friday April 27, 2018- One of my classmates hits a safety cone trying to make the U-turn.
So why do it?
I glance at the fence separating the parking lot from the Children's Center and see curious children watching.
I refocus my attention on maneuvering the police cart through the makeshift U-turn. I look down at my phone and refocus my attention on making plans with my best friend. for a split second, I panic.
I don’t want her to receive just a bit of the message. She’d be confused. Either we watch it together or I don’t watch it at all.
I knew this was just a simulation, yet the thought that many people my age are texting loved ones to make plans is what makes it surreal. Because here I am, doing that exact same thing. The only difference is this is a controlled environment. And there is a police officer by my side.
“You can put your phone away now,” Bridgewaters said to me, seeing my obvious struggle. I nod and, though my phone is still clutched in my left hand, the text is now forgotten. I was now in the middle of the U-turn and had to focus all my attention on getting through.
And not hitting the children, of course.
Friday, April 27, 2018- My actual text message., which I never sent.
So why do it?
Many people believe they are gifted with the ability to multitask.
They are wrong.
What is really going on is task-switching between the two tasks. So when a person is driving and then casually checking their phone, at the time that individual’s eyes are on the phone, they are no longer focused on the road. Their attention is now on their phone.
However, texting is not the only form of distracted driving. Basically doing anything on a cell phone counts as distracted driving: talking, snapchatting, social media, using the GPS feature, etc.
The DMV describes distracted driving as taking your focus off the road visually, manually and cognitively. It means not only taking your eyes off the road but also your hands off the steering wheel and your focus off your surroundings.
Texting while driving does all three.
Aside from using a cell phone, here are other actions that cause distracted driving:
⦁ Eating
⦁ Applying makeup
⦁ Taking in the view
⦁ Talking to/looking at another person
⦁ Listening/singing/bopping to music
⦁ Looking for something in your vehicle
⦁ Driving under the influence
So why do it despite knowing the risks?
Answer: all of the above.
So as I’m trying to avoid hitting children at a whopping 3 mph while texting in a cart with a police officer by my side, I remind myself of two things.
One: like Vania, I don’t have my license either.
And two: at five feet, I can barely reach the pedals.
Friday, April 24, 2018- Officer Karlton Bridgewaters.
Don't Text & Drive!
A short clip of our simulation exercise.
Sources:
“Texting and Driving”
https://www.dmv.org/distracted-driving/texting-and-driving.php
Officer Karlton Bridgewaters
(657) 278- 2515
Professor Robert Quezada
rquezada@fullerton.edu
Vania Pocasangre
(310) 654- 2442
vaniapoca@csu.fullerton.edu