Preventing Distracted Driving

Distracted driving poses an immense problem across the United States, and the issue only seems to continue growing. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “In 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed” in cases involving distracted driving, and of those killed, “teens were the largest age group reported as distracted at the time of fatal crashes” (“Distracted Driving”, n.d.). These terrifying statistics cannot be ignored. Distracted driving is a national epidemic, and unless society addresses the problem properly and efficiently, the risky driving behavior will continue to plague our streets, endangering peoples’ lives and leading to more fatalities.

Distracted driving is very dangerous to everyone on the road ways.  Distracted driving is engaging in non-driving activities that distracts the driver from the primary task of driving (SIRS).  In 2015, 3,477 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver (CDC).  Each year about 421,000 people are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver (Edgar Snyder).   Drivers would not be texting if their message was not very important.   Distracted driving should be illegal and security devices in vehicles should be implemented in order to save lives.

Distracted driving is the leading cause of car accidents in America, followed by speeding, then drunk driving. A study performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTAS) found that 80% of car crashes were a direct result of distracted driving. There are three types of distractions for drivers: visual, cognitive, and manual. Cell phone usage whilst driving meets all three criteria for a distracted driver. When a person is using a phone they will take their eyes away from the road to look at the device (visual), they will think about the content of what they are looking at and take their mind off of the road (cognitive), and they will also take their hands off of the wheel to use the device (manual). There are many other reasons that can be attributed to distracted driving, like applying make-up or loud passengers in the car, but cell phone usage is becoming a rapidly growing concern, especially with younger drivers. The NHTAS identified that drivers under the age of 20 make up the highest proportion of distracted drivers that were involved in fatal crashes.

Imagine that you are in a car. This car is going 80 miles per hour and just a few feet to the left to you someone else is going to pass you, but they are passing you while they are on their phone. Would you be ok with that? I wouldn't want someone next to me on their phone if we were going 30 miles per hour, let alone 80. I'm going to talk about how we should give police officers more control and tougher laws to stop distracted driving. Also in this paper I'm going to tell you about how many people died or got injured last year due to distracted driving and that we need to teach kids the dangers of distracted driving and how it's not ok.

Being the cause of a cell phone related accident can leave a person unable to handle the consequences of their actions. There is great concern regarding the dangers of distracted driving. This is made evident by legislation that has been put in place in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (2011), nationwide, 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have enacted texting bans. Current data from the National Safety Council (2010) suggest that each year, at least 1.6 million traffic accidents (28% of all crashes) in the United States are caused by drivers talking on cell phones or texting. The U.S. Department of Transportation (2011) states that nine states, the District of Columbia, and

In this article “Distracted Driving”, many distractions are mentioned other than just cell phone usage, such as changing the radio station or driving with kids in the back seat. It is stated that the dangers from distracted driving are because of the decrease in brain function and inability to pay full attention to the road. These practices lead to wrecks and in many cases death.

According to Ashley Gaddis from Counterpoint, “From 1999 to 2008, nearly fifty-two thousand people were killed in car crashes caused by distracted drivers” (n.pag.). Distracted driving started when technology became mobile and handheld. Many people have died and gotten injured from people not paying attention to the road. This problem has been growing as technology advances. Distracted driving is a big problem and there needs to be stronger penalties and laws in place to deter people from distracted driving.

Distracted driving is a major problem on the roads today. Not only is distracted driving dangerous for the driver himself but also for other people who happen to be on the same roads as them. The Annual AAA Foundation traffic safety culture index reports that 81.1% of drivers believe distraction is a serious problem and is a behavior that makes them feel unsafe

Despite the clear and growing danger of distracted driving, the laws are not the same from city to city or state to state.

“In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you,” (Heit). This specific quote shows how the results of distracted driving not only affects you, but also those around you. Distracted driving has been a serious concern for many years. This subject has been an issue because of the dangers it brings to the safety of others. One major type of distracted driving includes texting and driving. which is becoming more popular in today’s society because many have cell phones. Another type of distracted driving is drinking and driving, this continues to stay a topic for many years. Although drinking and driving and texting and driving carry many similarities with the

Ranked highest among distracted driving was texting. According to those who oppose changing the law each driver is responsible for their behavior and government interference is not necessary. In addition to supporting changing the law, lawmakers and other adults must take some responsibility in encouraging safe driving behavior. Although teens and young drivers texting are the primary source of fatalities of texting and driving. In the ABC News video, teens and distracted driving it showed how easily it is to be distracted. A driver not focused on the road can harm or kill themselves or others. Changing laws are time consuming and costly. Making distracted drivers a first offense shows the citizens of Florida lives are worth it.

Distracted driving is one of the fastest growing problems in the United States.   It is starting to be considered as serious as drunk driving based on the dangerous outcomes.  According to the Department of Transportation (2012), “distracted driving was a cause of roughly 450,000 accident-related injuries and nearly 5,500 fatalities in 2009 alone” (para. 1). Drivers who allow themselves to become distracted while driving are not only endangering themselves, but other innocent bystanders.

When it comes to someone getting behind a wheel it’s a big responsibility, you are not a passenger that could be doing different stuff you are now carrying with several lives and people are waiting for you at home. Many things cross our minds exactly when we are about to drive, but we need to learn how to ignore them and worry about getting where we supposed to be. Nowadays many accidents that occur on roads are caused by distracting driving and it seems easy to choose to do something such as: texting, eating or drinking, talking to passenger’s etcetera. “The best way to end distracted driving is to educate all Americans about the danger it poses” Not everyone realizes the danger it is being distracted while driving, but every distraction cause at least once to take our eyes off the road.

Imagine driving and you get a text do you check it or wait. Most of the time you will check it, sometimes unknowingly. That could cost you $10,000 and a year of your life! Most will say that this is too steep and it is. But it's mostly a scare tactic, just knowing that all that money and time is thrown away for just replying to a message. Not only do they have this fine, but many other fines for hurting people and killing people while texting and driving. Alaska does enough to protect its drivers from distracted drivers.

Distracted driving is defined as any activity that diverts attention from driving such as talking and texting on your phone,talking to people in your vechile,eating and drinking,fiddling with the stereo, anything that takes away from the task of safe driving. A number of experimental studies has found that distracted driving can cause poor responsive coordination and vehicular control, as well as higher numbers of car accidents (Caird et al. 2014 Another study found that among new drivers who send and receive texts were at a higher risk of getting into a car accident due to distracted driving (Klauer et al.2014). Research has shown that in commercial vehicles, texting and driving was associated with a higher