The Problem Distracted Driving Creates

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.

Many people have lost their lives on the road and caused other’s deaths because they were distracted with doing something while driving. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in distraction-related crashes (“Statistics on Texting & Cell Phone Use While Driving” n.d.). Distractions while driving that result in these accidents include texting/making a call or becoming intoxicated and having high blood alcohol concentration. Many laws have been brought forth to help regulate the amount of people drinking while driving and using a cell phone while driving. Not only do people put their own lives in danger, they are also putting other’s lives in danger. People who take part in these distractions are not being responsible when making these rash decisions while driving and creating a hazardous environment for those around them.

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.

Drivers can now be cited if they are found to be using electronic devices that result in the driver diverting their eyes off the road or becoming distracted to an extent that they put other people 's safety at risk. Talking on the phone may not fulfill this criterion but texting or using a mapping app could certainly qualify. When one is texting, one is actually doing all three activities that are considered distracted driving - their eyes are off the road, they are paying attention to something else and their hands are off the steering wheel. This is an open violation of the law and demonstrates a complete disregard for the safety of others on the road. It has also been observed that drivers who have a tendency to text while driving are also more prone to commit other offenses such as weaving through lanes.

The amount of car accidents that happen each year continue to increase. This continues to happen because of the number of people who consistently drive distracted everyday. This is due to a surplus of reasons, however, many fall subject to driving distracted because they prioritize their cell phones more than what is happening on the road in front of them.

Tom Vanderbilt, author of “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About us)” claims that text messaging while driving, or “distracted driving” is comparable to drunk driving in the 1950s. He says “The Science is clear, the laws were becoming clearer, but the culture against drunken driving hadn’t manifested” (Politico). I agree with Vanderbilt; it’s clear that distracted driving puts drivers and passengers at significant risk, yet laws are only now starting to appear concerning the issue, and it’s not yet culturally unacceptable.

Nearly nine in 10 teenage drivers have engaged in distracted driving even though they know that their actions increase their risk of getting into a car accident (Copeland). Drivers know that what they do is unacceptable but they still do it. Distracted driving is any activity that can distract a person’s attention away from driving (“Facts and Statistics”). Distracted driving can include changing the radio station, texting, eating, looking at an advertisement at the side of the road, or talking on the phone. There has been an issue in whether tougher laws are needed for distracted driving. To most people, tougher laws will make drivers not drive and be distracted because there will be a major consequence to it. Even though tougher laws will help some individuals,

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.

All humans have their own rights to communicate with other people in any situations. Some people talk to their close friends, families, or people who live far from them. In this century, there have been an invention that make it easier for people to communicate, even with the people who live across the ocean. This invention is called cellphone. As the other inventions would be, it has affected people who are using it; moreover, they use it in every chance they have to look at the cellphone. However, this invention has changed people in the present day. “Distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways. In 2013, 3,154 were killed in distracted driving crashes” (Distraction.gov). The distraction that it meant includes texting or using a cellphone, talking to passengers, eating and drinking, adjusting a radio, or watching videos.

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.

Distracted drivers can cause many problems. Some problems that can happen is you could have to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on repairs on your car. It can also cause deaths of yourself or innocent people. This problem can affect many people it could affect the driver,

“ Distracted driving kills” ( Distracted driving7). Distracted driving affects people of all ages but, “ our youngest and most inexperienced drivers are most at risk” ( Distracted driving7). This happens as soon as a person enters their vehicle and start to drive. Their eyes begin to go off the road which soon causes a head to head collision. Later on as technology improves and advances, cell phones have become the most common type of distracted driving such as eating or drinking or watching videos on their phone for an example, “ because text messaging requires visual, manual and conductive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarm distraction” (Distracted driving 5). This shows that many are risking their life and others around

Imagine while watching the news the reporter says a teen has been killed in a horrible accident. The news reporter says the teen was killed, because of being distracted by texting while driving. According to Florida Department of Motor Vehicle (2016), In the state of Florida it is legal to talk on the phone while driving as long as the driver doesn't break any road rules. The accident could have been prevented if operating phones while driving were against the law in the state of Florida. The driver's death is a prime example that the State of Florida does not do enough to prevent distracted driving. Distracted driving should be a first offense with stiffer penalties. Traffic laws protect the general safety of vehicle drivers and passages

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.

How often do you look out your window while driving and see a driver eating, putting on makeup, talking to a passenger, or looking at their phone? The answer is probably more than you hope to admit. Distracted driving is one of the biggest problems with driving these days. People think they have the ability to multitask while driving, when in reality their brain is only able to do one thing at a time, and they are putting other people’s lives on the line. Distracted driving is defined as any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving. Several laws have been passed to try to prevent people from getting distracted while behind the wheel, but they’re not as effective as some people hope. Two national