One in five women apply makeup while driving. These sobering statistics leave me with one question. Ladies, are we really so obsessed with our appearance that we would kill for it? I can assure each and every female that sacrificing putting on makeup is not going to result in the end of the world, so relax. When comparing the consequences of distracted driving to appearing in public without make up, we see that any sane person would rather risk the latter of the two. As a girl who is a licensed driver, I cannot understand why anyone would value her appearance over the safety of herself and others.

Not only is putting makeup on while driving unsafe for others, but where is the intelligence in placing sharp objects near your eye while moving? Let’s all utilize the brains we have been given.

Maneuvering an object that could take a human life in one second takes focus. According to the Allstate foundation on www.keepthedrive.com, car crashes are the number one killer of all Americans from ages 1 to 34 with teens crashing four times more often than adults. There are four different types of distracted driving. These include visual distraction, audible distraction, physical distraction and cognitive distraction. The most common forms of those distractions are texting, eating, changing music, putting ear phones in both ears and, lastly, applying makeup. I understand that some people have been driving distracted for long periods of time without facing any consequences but that was all due to luck. No one, especially a teenager with only a year or two of driving experience, is a perfect driver when distracted. Someday, that luck will run out and could result in the loss of a human life.

There is a simple solution to this issue. Girls, put your make up on before or after you drive, or simply go without. This same solution applies to any action that contributes to distracted driving. Stay parked while eating, create a driving play-list so you don’t have to manually change the music and, finally, wait to send a message.

Causing a collision can result in prison time and huge fines. But the biggest consequence a collision can cause is death. If a distracted driver causes a fatal crash, criminal charges of man slaughter can be filed. Before you lose focus while driving ask yourself, “is it worth it”?

Our society needs to get its priorities straight. I urge my peers who drive distracted to rearrange those priorities. Be considerate of yourself and those around you and stay focused.