Essay 3.1 - txtn whle drvin

Ruffin Creekmur; a son, a cousin, a nephew, a grandson, a boyfriend, my friend was killed in a car accident on February 22, 2010. Ruffin was nothing less than an amazing person. He had it all, a wonderful sense of humor, more friends than you could imagine, good looks, and a family that he loved more than anything. He lived life to the fullest, snowboarding, surfing, paintballing, wakeboarding any chance he got; he was always up for anything. I was always ensured to have a blast no matter what if I was in his presence. Ruffin was one of my best friends but he was taken from me, as well as all of his other many friends and family.

I got the call on February 22nd from my friend hardly being able to speak behind her sobs. She managed to utter the words, “Ruffin died in a car accident!” my heart stopped, the blood drained from my face, and all I could think was that it wasn’t real. She must be joking? Why would she say such a horrible thing? I kept repeating no, no, no. This can’t be true. Ruffin. Gone. But it was real. It was one of the worst feelings in the world, losing a close friend.

Ruffin has taught me many things in my life since befriending him in 9th grade of high school, but the last thing he has taught me is to always be cautious while driving. We aren’t sure exactly what Ruffin was doing at the time of his crash, but carelessness was more than likely involved. One glace away from the road is all it takes for such a tragedy to happen. Ruffin wasn’t texting at the time of his death but I think it is an important issue that relates to my dear friends accident. As the use of the cell phone is becoming more and more prevalent in our lives today, it is increasing the cause of car accidents more and more as well.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “about 5,870 people died and about 515,000 were injured last year in accidents attributed to distracted driving” (Halsey, par. 6), and that drivers under the age of 20 had the highest distracted driving fatality rate among all the age groups. This is due to the fact that teens practically have cell phones glued to their hands at all times, and driving doesn’t stop them. This is a scary fact that can impact anyone’s life on the road whether being the person texting while driving, or rising the life of someone else by contact.

“Ray turn up the music! Let’s jam!” Ruffin, who always called me Ray, loved driving around with the windows down, listening to music and being in the car with friends. He lived farther away than the majority of our friends, so it felt like he was constantly driving to meet up with us. He always had some kind of problem with his car, hitting a deer, getting a flat, or the car just giving out all together. We would always laugh at him for having the worst luck…but it never bothered him. To Ruffin he had all the luck in the world.

“A quarter of U.S. teens ages 16 to 17 who have cell phones say they text while driving, and almost half of Americans ages 12 to 17 say they've been in cars with someone who texted while behind the wheel”(Hasley, par. 2). So many teens today feel just as Ruffin did, they have luck, they would never get in a car accident. But the truth is, it’s easier than you think. Studies say that drivers using phones are four times more likely to cause a crash than other drivers (New York Times, par. 1). And who uses cell phones more than any other age group? Teenagers.

Ruffin was always the kid that would try anything, if you said he wouldn’t do it, he would do anything in his power to prove you wrong. I once challenged him to eat 5 Saltine crackers in less than a minute without water telling him it was nearly impossible, and he said “Okay, only if you do it too”. So Ruffin and I tried to choke down 5 Saltine crackers without water, failing at the attempt but laughing the whole way through. Ruffin was invincible, and he stopped at nothing to prove a point.

Now, at least 16 states are considering the legislation that would outlaw or restrict texting while driving. “Two reasons for the proposed legislation: the growing sophistication of cell phones that are increasingly catered to texting and, perhaps more important, the growing number of high-profile accidents—and those always tend to translate into legislation" (Schulte, par2.). It is a growing concern and more states are taking action. It is almost as dangerous as driving while under the influence, so there should be punishment for it as well. They are thinking about placing a fine on those who text and drive, and I think it is a good idea.

Ruffin was such a good friend to me, and I miss him every day. I wish he had been more cautious while he was driving, and maybe if there were more restrictions on careless driving he would have.