If you’re a teen driver who keeps his or her hands off the phone while driving, great job and keep it up! But what do you do when you’re the passenger of a friend who is texting while driving? We totally understand that asking a friend to put away the phone is easier said than done. Not only are you risking cool points but possibly a friend. However, we think it’s much cooler to protect yourself and your friend on the road.
Here are a few tips from Celeb Teen Laundry for asking your friends to put away their phones without turning it into a friendship-ruining issue:
- Speak up before you go. Before you get into the car, tell your friend that you won’t ride with anyone who uses a phone while driving. Need a good explanation? Tell your friend that you’ve seen too many texting-while-driving-related accidents and don’t want either of you to be another statistic.
- Blame your parents. Tell your friend that you won’t be able to ride with them again if your parents catch you in a car with a distracted driver.
- Start a conversation. Politely ask your friend to avoid texting while driving and talk about the dangers of texting while driving so that they understand how you feel about it and why. You can make it even easier by offering to answer their phone or to drive.
- Request your friend’s phone. Ask your friend if you can see their phone for any excuse you can think of, from wanting to text your parents but your phone is dead to wanting to check your Facebook. Perfect for anyone too embarrassed to ask their friend not to text and drive, this option at least takes the phone out of the driver’s hands.
- Make not texting while driving a game. Challenge your friend to see how long they can go without texting or come up with some other game.
Summer time is dangerous enough with an increased number of inexperienced drivers on the road. Help create a safe driving environment on our roads by putting away your phone and encouraging your friends to do the same.