Texting while driving not worth risk

I hope that this message will be read by other teenage drivers. I hope that my experience can make people safer the next time they get behind the wheel.

On Saturday night, I was driving home from a friend's house when I saw my phone light up. Instead of waiting until I got home, I picked up my phone to see who texted me. In a split second, I drove right into a tree. I'm lucky that the air bags opened and that I did not get seriously injured, but my car was totaled.

I had to call my parents and tell them what I had done. Now I have to pay tickets and towing costs. I no longer have a car to drive. My parents are disappointed in me, and I am going to have to earn their trust back. All of this because in a split second I made a bad decision.

I heard all the warnings about texting and driving, and I have been told a hundred times not to do it. Now I must face the consequences for doing it. So if you think that this won't happen to you, trust me, I thought the same thing. Don't take driving lightly and never get distracted. No text message is worth your life.

Jared Belin

Marion