In today’s world, there are many distractions that remain prevalent in simple everyday occurrences. Amongst these is the use of cell phone whether you are simply walking down the hallway absorbed in a conversation or you are behind the wheel driving down the highway. Cell phones, no matter the context, are a major distraction. They have managed to pull us away from spending time with our families and are appearing in places they are not prevalent such as family dinners and behind the wheel of a car. These little handheld devices are not bad as they are a useful tool that today’s generation is lucky to have, but they can cause great danger. They can even decide whether you live another minute. In all cases, it is not this extreme, most of the time however, it is. According to U.S. cell phones and driving statistics in 2012, 3,328 people died in cell-phone distraction-related crashes. About 421,000 obtained injuries in crashes involving a distracted driver. The numbers have only jumped since then. This statistic alone makes the situation a little clearer and establishes a concrete reason why we need to eliminate cell-phone usage behind the wheel. Many drivers have made substantial counter-examples that do create a point but have defaults. Larisa Antonisse from Maryland stated, “If the use, of cell phones while driving should be illegal, then it only makes sense to ban eating, drinking, changing the radio station, and glancing at the scenery.” Her statement makes sense for a
These little handheld devices are useful tools that today’s generation is lucky to have, but they can cause grave danger. They can even decide whether you live another minute. In all cases, it is not this extreme, see however, it is. According to U.S. cell phone and driving statistics in 2012, 3,328 people died in cell-phone distraction-related crashes. About 421,000 obtained injuries in crashes involving a distracted driver. Since that survey numbers have only kept increasing. This statistic alone makes the situation a little clearer and establishes a concrete reason why Wyoming needs to eliminate cell-phone usage behind the wheel.
Nearly 6,000 people are killed connecting to the outcome of cell phone use while driving, according to Edmunds.com (7). Texting and talking on the phone throughout the time that a person is driving can have deadly consequences, but people still don’t seem to want to give up risking their life. There are many issues that can happen while on the road related to the usage of cell phones. It is important to stop people from looking at their phones while driving, because it is extremely distracting and not safe. Even hands free devices are not as safe as they seem to be. There have to be consequences for people using their cell phones while driving in order to improve the people’s safety. According to Edmunds.com, cell phones are known as distractions everywhere in the world and have created several concerns to several countries (9).
“Distracted driving refers to any nondriving activity that takes motorists ' attention away from the safe operation of their vehicles” (Leone). Every time a driver gets in a vehicle and decides to use a cell phone to have a conversation, either talking or texting, they put themselves and others lives in danger. The convenience a cell phone and the capabilities they offer have made them a substantial distraction and a cause of significant source of vehicle accidents and fatalities. There are three different types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. Cell phone use is the most dangerous distraction because it involves all three different types of distraction and plays a part in the increasing issue of distracted driving. Even
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
The number of people of people wounded or killed in distracted driving accidents due to cell phone use. What is crazy is that everyone is aware of the danger of this cell phone use, but for many, especially young adults, the constant need to check their cell phone to respond to a text, email, call, or to use the internet, outweighs the possible consequences. Some reasons might be that they feel like they can handle both or feel like a hands-free call isn’t dangerous, but the truth is that all forms of cell phone use while driving are dangerous and should not be allowed. Since these accidents account for % of distracted driving accidents, I want to talk a little about what distracted driving is, the three main types, and how they apply to each type of cell phone use.
While driving was developing into a more popular and affordable means of transportation, cell phone use was rapidly increasing in and out of automobiles. The combination of these technologies resulted in a large amount of cellular based distractions; consequently, they can cause serious injuries and in extreme cases death. In Cohen’s “Deadly Distraction” and Leone’s “Taking on Distracted Driving”, the authors discuss the severity of utilizing a cellular device while operating an automobile. Both of these articles were written to accomplish a similar objective: to inform the public of the negative effects on the community of distracted driving. Everyone in society is affected by distracted driving
Despite an effective way of communication, using cell phones during driving results in the distracted attention of driver increasing road safety concerns.
The use of the cell phones while driving has been noted to be a cause of several accidents within many states and have been found responsible for more accidents that those caused by drunk-driving in some states. Due to this, many states have now legislated several laws that are geared towards ensuring that the safety of the passengers and pedestrians are equally secured by banning the use of cell phones while driving.
Over the past decade, we have seen an increase in a number of car accidents. Innocent lives have been taken away, because of reckless driving by humans due to the misconception of multitasking. To prevent these acts of violence, many states have passed laws that inhibit drivers from using a cellular device. To bring awareness of this impulsive act numerous cell phone providers and advocates have started campaigns such as “it can wait” and “stop text stop wrecks”. Yet, there are still people who take careless action that jeopardize other’s life. Cell phone use is an epidemic problem that is dangerous and unlawful. Recent studies show cell phone use while driving has much greater effect than driving intoxicated.
To begin with, the use of mobile technology and portable communication devices while driving, as opposed to other causes of accidents, has contributed to the most fatalities among licensed adolescents and adults. If one is devoting all of his/her attention to an electronic device, he/she cannot be completely aware of the possible dangers of the area, for one’s line of vision and overall attention has been limited to a small screen. Also, a man fulfilling a task on his mobile telephone has thus restricted the total amount of control over his vehicle to only one hand, making it immensely difficult to manage his path of travel. When a driver is distracted, one might unnoticingly exceed the posted speed limits, run red lights and stop signs, or even collide with a pedestrian or other vehicle, labeling it the most frequent and fatal cause of traffic related casualties in the
Although some people say believe that cell phones are good in case of an emergency, the implementation of cell phones is distracting drivers and leading to increases in crash percentages, elevates the percentage of teen deaths and influxes in insurance rates of teen drivers. Distracted driving is a growing problem in today's society. It causes countless deaths every year. This problem has progressed over the years due to the progress in mobile devices. The advance of cell phones has made distracted driving even more of a problem. Texting and driving is a very common problem because of the progression of cell phones. Many people think that five seconds is the minimal amount of time that drivers take away from the road when they are trying to
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, eight people are killed each day in crashes involving distracted driving (Kelly, 1). This is an alarming stat that needs to be addressed immediately so this issue can be prevented allowing for better safety on the roads for drivers. In this day and age, technology has an exponentially greater impact on the daily lives of people in society as opposed to recent history, especially with millennials. Stats to the right show that 12% of teen crashes come from cell phone use distraction. From children to millennials to the older generations, phone use is almost depended on for everyday communication and staying abreast of news within their social circle and the globe.
Over the past few decades, technology has greatly improved. Computers have advanced from being the size of a room to a portable item we can carry in our pockets. The vast majority of Americans carry a cell phone at all times, or at least have one within arm’s reach. In today’s technology oriented world, people can be easily susceptible to an overuse of their cell phone; this susceptibility causes multiple distractions in the key settings of our daily lives.
Today, one of the major sources of automobile accidents is distracted driving due to cell phone use. Driver distraction can be defined as “the diversion of attention away from activities critical for the safe driving toward a competing activity” (Young 3). The dangers of driving while using a cell phone cannot be overstated, but drivers still use their cell phones even though they are illegal. According to a survey, “About 2 out of 10 (18%) report that they have sent text messages or emails while driving; about half (49%) of those 21 to 24 year olds report doing so” (NHTSA). This indicates that millions of people use their cell phones while driving everyday, and with the increased availability and affordability of cell phones, the risk can only increase. In this paper the topics that will be discussed in regard to cell phone use while driving include the brief history of the cell phone, talking while driving, texting while driving, the part of the community most affected by using cell phones, alternatives to reduce incidents, the laws that have been enacted, and the organizations that endorse no texting while driving.
Do you use your cell phone while you drive? No? Good. Most people who do are well aware of the consequences, but think that they would never happen to them. Our reliance on these devices has led to a rise in use by drivers, increasing the risk of car accidents and fatalities immensely. The main concerns, which puts us at jeopardy, are drivers having to take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel, in order to efficiently text, dial, change a song, etc. Also, people can be so consumed in what they are communicating that they lose their focus on driving, interrupting their effective driving. Although cellphones play a significant role in our society, the hazards they present should be taken further into consideration when getting behind