Distracted Driving: My Life Is In Your Hands

“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

"Distracted Driving." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.

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 drivers are drivers that do not put their full concentration on driving. Most people use their phones while driving. People are so attached to their phones that they cannot wait until they get to their destination to use their phones. Many accidents are blamed on distracted drivers and most of the distraction is caused by cell phone usage. However, some opponents feel that creating a law against cell phone use diminish their personal rights.

The risks of distracted driving are great and lead to unfathomable results. According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), there are three main types of distracted driving. The first is visual - taking your eyes off of the road. The second is manual- taking your hands off of the wheel, and the third is cognitive - taking your mind off of driving (CDCP). While all of these exist amongst distracted drivers, the major distraction for most people is visual and manual. For example, whether an individual is changing the radio or the most common and dangerous thing, texting; particularly because texting involves all three forms. It involves

Over the last four decades, mobile devices have become the trademark of our society.cell phones and other mobile devices have inundated our society At any given time; we can see drivers talking or texting in a moving vehicle. According to Brenner (2013), 87% of American adults and 78% of teenagers own a cell phone. The scary part is that almost two-thirds of

Lately, cell phone distraction while driving has been a hot topic on the radio and television, with people giving their opinion or sharing experiences. Cell phone usage and other distraction are causing an increase in accidents. Text messaging has been around for about a dozen years , with public surveys showing overwhelming agreement that it's a dangerous distraction ( Halsey ).

It was important for this artifact to target mostly young adults because they are new drivers who think the world is theirs now, but it was also important because there is a popular commonplace amongst teens where they think they’re invincible and that nothing bad could ever happen to them. This video, as heart wrenching and tear-jerking as it is, proves a point. No one is exempt from being hurt, or even killed, when it comes to distracted driving, and the four areas of Stasis Theory that I discussed persuaded me, and hopefully other audience members as well, that it can

Distracted driving has been the most recent cause of accidents on the road presently. Of course there are many other reasons why drivers get into accidents, but it is mainly because they get distracted. Police in El Cerrito, California even gave more than 600 citations in April to drivers for distracted driving violations (“El Cerrito”).Also,“nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in the U.S. due to drivers being distracted”(“Distracted”).Distracted driving today causes many accidents through the use of technology, eating and drinking, and children in the backseat.

"Distracted driving is not only texting, it can be a combination of many things. Anytime you take your focus off the road you are considered a distracted driver"(Teddi Dineley). "Each time you take your focus off the road, just for a second, you’re putting your life and the lives of others in danger" (Teddi Dineley). As stated in the article, “Distracted Driving: Stay Focused When on the Road,” written by Teddi Dineley Johnson, driving a car is a very complex task.

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.

There are three types of drivers in this world: competent, overcautious, and reckless. After driving for many years in frustrating rush hour traffic, one might find there are three types of drivers, competent drivers who keep the flow going, over cautious drivers who cause slow and backed up traffic, and reckless drivers who weave in and out of traffic causing one near death experience after another. Trying to sort out what type of driver a person might be is an extremely challenging task. In a person's own mind, they think they are the aggressive type of driver, or the cautious type, but no one will ever admit that they are reckless kind. In most cases they’re too oblivious to these classifications and all other

A word has started to appear in discussions of driving. The word is "distracted." It refers to drivers who pay more attention to their cell phones, or their text messages, than they do to driving. The results can be fatal. One of the most common distractions today is texting. Each day in the United States, 9 people are killed and more than 1,060 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (Center). A couple of months ago, I and a friend were sitting at a red light waiting on green. We were talking about making plans for later that evening. We decided what to do as soon as the light turned green, we waited on the car in front of us to ease off the line. Then we were hit. This turned into a five car pileup.

There are problems and issues in every community every day. One issue that is becoming exceedingly threatening, and more of an epidemic than a bad habit, is distracted driving. Texting and driving specifically, immediately endangers yourself and anybody around you. Besides texting and talking on the phone, other distractions include eating or drinking, looking at maps, changing the radio, grooming, etc. Next time you are able to watch people driving, notice what they’re doing. I’ve noticed that often times, especially on the freeway, people are doing everything except driving. It’s almost as if they see it as a mundane task that doesn’t require their undivided attention.

Anyone can lose their life because another driver deems sending a message more important. It should be a goal of every driver to create a safer environment on the road for those generations yet to come. I drive nearly every day, and my safety relies on the actions of other drivers as much as, or more so, than my own. For this reason, the accountability of my decisions when I am behind the wheel are of a great concern for me. Text messaging and social networking sites on smartphones make the bulk of how people today interact. This in itself is not inherently bad – though there is a tendency for individuals to use their device in inappropriate environments, such as while driving.