Every day people put their lives in danger when they get behind the wheel, sober or not. Most people probably think that a majority of car accidents were caused from drunk driving, but there are also numerous other reasons. The tiniest of distractions can make a ginormous change in someone’s life. Texting, along with drinking, are among the most dangerous problems of driving. In 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed, and 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers (“Distracted”). When looking at statistics, approximately 660,000 drivers are using their cell phones (“Distracted”). The potential to be in an accident caused by texting is tremendous. Not only that, but every day, 28 people in the United States die
The act of sending electronic messages or texting is easily accessible to anyone that owns a cell phone. Often people are seen with the cell phone in one hand and texting while walking, eating in a restaurant with friends, working or shopping. It has become a part of everyday life. The convenience and the need to stay connected has made texting a useful method of communicating, that has increased dramatically with teenagers. “Adolescents report that texting is the most common way that they stay in contact with friends, sending an average of a hundred texts per day” (Delgado para. 1). This includes texting while driving. The effects of distracted driving from texting include legal penalties, increase in insurance premiums, motor vehicle crashes, and even death. Texting while driving has become a major problem in the United State and a simple LOL can have serious consequences.
Automobile crashes as a result of texting while driving is an epidemic that has taken over the nation in the past years. In today’s society, people have become more and more dependent on technology as everyday uses. How many can honestly say that they have text and driven? How many have had to swerve, stop on the brakes or almost gotten into an accident because of it? Texting while driving is the most common thing that almost everyone has done or seen. The main issue and threat is that people think they can safely type on their phone while driving; while others simply do not think there is any real danger with that act. Today, it is all about convenience; but the cost for this convenience can be very deadly. Studies show that any
Texting and driving has become a recent issue in today's society and is one of the largest epidemics to sweep our nation. The progression of text messaging, with more capable phones and larger numbers of people engaging than ever before, has turned into one of the largest distractions in our world. Many teens, as well as adults, have formed a habit of using their cell phones while driving their cars. Several people do not think that a quick text or even a glance at a phone while they are driving will do any harm. A great bit of accidents has taken place due to a careless individual that decided to look at their phone while they were in the process of driving. These days, phones have gotten even more
Every day in the United States around one out of ten people are killed by distracted drivers, and around 1500 are injured in some way in crashes by these irresponsible, distracted drivers. One of the most dangerous, distracting activities that many people do is texting while driving. It is extremely dangerous because people who do this are putting more attention in texting, and they take their eyes off the road while they are driving, which increases the chance that the driver can lose the control of the vehicle, and could cause a crash or even in a worst case could kill other people. When a person is texting, she/he is thinking about other things besides concentrating on driving. This is very dangerous because it could make the driver lose
In this age of multitasking, the use of cell phones is combined with assignments like cooking, driving, babysitting, walking, doing college assignments and even eating. Whereas the use of cell phones while doing some chores might be simply annoying, the consequence of using cell phone with driving can be fatal. Recent polls by the Pew Research Center and other researchers show that about fifty to ninety percent young Americans admit using their cell phone while driving. This includes about thirty six percent who said they texted or typed something whiles driving. (Lopresti-Goodman, Rivera, & Dressel, 2012). The practice of using phone particularly texting while driving has increased the number of distracted driving accidents. When the cell phone records of people involved
Cell phones have become an essential part of many peoples’ lives as they are one of the main sources of communication. People are able to complete many tasks using their phones, such as making phone calls, sending and receiving e-mails, text messaging, and even snapping photos. Cell phones are not only beneficial, but they are impactful in many ways. As many positive uses there are for cell phones, cell phone usage can be undoubtedly precarious while driving. Cell phone usage while driving is many times done irresponsibly and can put the driver at risk of getting injured. In addition to the driver getting injured, innocent pedestrians could also potentially lose their lives or be crippled due to a texting person who was driving at the same time. According to The Federal Communications Commission, “over 8 people are killed and approximately 1,161 are injured daily in incidents reported as distraction-affected crashes in the United States.” Texting while driving has become the number one distraction of drivers and main cause of car crashes. These crashes could result in hundreds of thousands of people either losing their lives or experiencing life-changing injuries. Although cell phone usage is an effective way to communicate with others and to complete certain tasks, it has become problematic for drivers in recent years as it increased the risk of injury and death while driving. For these reasons, texting while driving should be illegal and punishable by law.
“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.” -Sharon Heit, mother of the victim of distracted driver. (https://www.pinterest.com) Texting while driving increases the risk of crashes and reduces one’s awareness and performance, also causing diversion of attention and decreases the ability to focus. As the use of devices while driving can be severely dangerous, there are countless ways to discourage this practice. For instance, being educated on the importance of safety, stricter laws and or punishments, or furthermore, using handheld free technology. By these taking place, texting and driving would become an important priority preventing drivers from causing
Nowadays, it is a common occurrence to see people messaging from their cellular devices in the midst of driving. Many drivers, across the globe, engage in the practice without contemplating about the potential detrimental effects of their actions. Notably, researches have depicted that texting while driving is one of the major causes of road accidents. As a matter of fact, accidents caused due to messaging while driving has superseded those, which are instigated by drunk drivers. Drivers are inclined to the belief that they can send some messages without negatively impacting on their driving abilities. However, studies have revealed that drivers are not as capable of multi-tasking as they believe they are. Researchers have discovered that drivers who text while driving look at the road 400 times less compared to those who do not message. After all the research it shows that texting and driving increases the risks of accidents and could even be deadly. Texting and Driving is a widespread problem that is killing Americans across the country. Nearly everyone agrees that texting and driving is dangerous. Most people do it anyway. Texting and driving falls under a category of safety risks called distracted driving. Distracted driving covers any non-driving act that keeps drivers from safely operating their vehicles. Texting and driving is particularly hazardous because it takes the driver’s attention away from driving more frequently and for longer periods of time. Texting and
In a 2009 study, VTTI found that, “Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field…blindfolded” (Data). Drivers may encounter any number of unexpected hazards in those five seconds, resulting in a car accident, serious injury, or death, but still people use their phones dangerously. Distracted driving due to cell phone use is widely practiced by all ages of drivers, many of whom do not take warnings seriously. Automakers are teaming up with cell phone companies to address the problem, but aren’t seeing much success. There are three strategies that should be used to minimize the habit of texting
One of the causes of motor- vehicle accidents in teens is distracted driving involving cell phones. Every day in the United States, more than nine people are killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in accidents due to distracted driving involving cell phones (“Distracted Driving” par. 1). When teens drive and look at their phones to read or send a text message so much can happen on the road with those few seconds of not paying attention. However, a distracted driving study was created by the CDC and found that teen drivers have the highest proportion of distraction- related fatal accidents (“Distracted Driving” par.
A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute estimates that texting and driving takes away from the road for 4.6 seconds, the same amount of time it takes for a car to travel across a football field at 55 miles per hour. Since there are both positive and negative factors in driving, we are starting to realize more that driving can be extremely dangerous. This here shows that there are multiple issues and causes as to why driving is becoming such a problem. Imagine if this was your family member being at stake for someone else’s distractions.(Hypothetical).
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.
According to an article, “Texting and Driving Statistics”, 3,179 people died and 431,000 people were injured in 2014 due to distracted drivers involved in accidents. Distracted driving is not caused by cell phones alone, it could be caused by the radio, a navigation system, eating, conversing with others in the car, or reading. The same article states that, “because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction.” The percentage of drivers texting while behind the wheel increased by 0.5 percent from 2013 to 2014. It is a dangerous issue that is causing death and injury every year. The average time used to read a text message is five seconds, and according to the article, “When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded. “ That is ample time to cause an
Did you know that nearly 1,300,000 people die a year from texting and driving? Yet, people are still doing it today. Texting and driving is a very dangerous thing. The fact that texting and driving can cause accidents, risking your life and others’, and delay and distraction leads to the idea that people should stop texting and driving.
As cell phones become more popular, texting while driving is becoming the most widely known cause for car accidents among teens. The alarming rate of incidents where texting is involved is getting more parents worried and warning their children about the danger of texting while driving. Parents are urging the fact that drivers should pay attention to the road and traffic, not their phones. A popular study of 18 to 24 year old drivers showed that 66 percent of them have texted while driving. Since texting while driving is becoming more popular many states are passing a law to ban the use of any cell phone device while in a vehicle. Texting while driving is an important issue that is causing many deaths and those who cause these deaths and