Popular Viners influence teenage driving habits

Social media applications such as Vine pose a hazard to teenagers on the road (Photo illustration by Olivia Deveau/Talon).

Along with the hazards of driving while using a cell phone come the risks of being pulled over by a policeman and possibly receiving a ticket. Vine, a video-based social network, has gained popularity in the past few years — and “Viners” film many of the videos on the network while driving. This presents a clear danger to other drivers and a bad influence for the young adults who watch these videos.

Vine allows users to film up to six seconds of a looping video and is seen as an alternative to the more photography-based Instagram.

But as Vine has become more and more prolific, Vine-makers started to integrate filming themselves into their daily lives — including while in the car.

According to a study by the Global Web Index, 25 percent of teenagers age 13 to 18 use Vine on a daily basis.

Officer John Hughes of the Simi Valley Police Department sees social media applications such as Vine as a hazard to drivers.

“[People using mobile devices] are a liability as drivers. Their attention is not on driving, it’s what they’re doing with social media. It would put a lot of people at risk,” Hughes said. “You’re driving a 3,000 pound vehicle, your reaction is impaired,”

Many teenagers see recording themselves while driving as an unacceptable practice.

“As teenagers, we’re really impacted by the things that we see, especially on social media,” junior Marissa Adamski said. “It’s really dangerous because as young drivers, we’re seeing these really popular people that some of us may look up to, filming themselves in the car and using their phones in the car, and that might even influence us to perform those same dangerous acts.”

California law stipulates that using a cellular device while driving is illegal, and drivers under 18 are not allowed to even use hands-free devices such as Bluetooth speakers while behind the wheel. Despite this law, and corporate campaigns from AT&T and Toyota, teenagers still use their cellular devices while driving

Hughes said that California has an awareness month in which officers are instructed to focus on cell phone tickets, and seatbelt tickets.

“Although it hurts someone’s pocket, it has to to get the message across,” Hughes said.

Students like Adamski see the absurdity of choosing to Vine while driving.

“Why would you put your life on the line?” Adamski said. “Just pull over. Your Vine will be just as funny, and your picture will be just as cute, but you’ll also be setting a good example.”