Whether it’s adjusting the radio, answering a call, or even playing with a pet; taking one’s eyes off the road can be dangerous. High School senior Harlie Storhoff said it doesn’t take much for teen drivers to get their adrenaline rushing when getting behind the wheel.
“A lot of how us teenagers drive and how younger adults drive; we have a lot of aggression in our driving; we try to show off with speeding. It’s not a good thing to do,” Storhoff said.
Distracted driving only adds to the list of problems.
“I’m pretty good at it, I’m guilty and I shouldn’t be,” Storhoff said.
Storhoff and other teens went for a ride with Burleigh County Sheriff’s Deputy, Joseph Citta. The teens weren’t in trouble, Deputy Citta used this as an opportunity to show them just how distracting it can be when fumbling with a cellphone to text or even trying to stream that favorite tune.
“The younger the generation gets, the more they’re attached to their phones. No matter what they do and how hard we preach out to them; we always see them texting and driving,” Burleigh County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Citta said.
His advice to the teen drivers was for them to not get behind the vehicle distracted but to always be alert to what’s going on while driving which is exactly what he did.
“You have someone that’s with you that’s riding with you that’s guiding you through it, encouraging you on one run then the next. You add in a phone, you add in other distractions like the radio,” Citta said.
Storhoff said she has been guilty of distracted driving and after having the one-on-one lesson with Citta that will change
“I am going to stop driving, and texting, and snapping, and whatever I’m doing whenever I’m driving,” she said.