Why Teens Must Learn to Become Safe Drivers Most Americans over the age of sixteen have a license and drive a car, the problem is not everyone can handle their car in an elegant manor. Most teenagers on the road do not have much experience on driving, especially in a stressful situation like trying to merge onto a busy roadway. In order to entice new drivers on practicing safe driving tactics, numerous written reports, peer reviews, and articles establishing the fact that teens are not simply prepared to drive we be discussed. Teens have been proven to get into more crashes than someone who is thirty or older. Since new innovations and technological advances happen every year, people seem to get lost in what is happening in their car …show more content…
If a driver does not think this is becoming much of an issue, the next time they are at a stop light they can make a game out of how many people they can spot on their phones. In a peer reviewed article in EHS Today, Sandy Smith reports that teens aged fourteen to seventeen, think they will not get into a car crash while texting versus drinking and driving (Smith). Smith also states:
In a 2008 study by the United Kingdom 's Transport Research Laboratory, reaction time of drivers 17-24 years of age was reduced by 35 percent when typing a text message, compared with 12 percent when driving after consuming alcohol to the legal limit. A similar study was released in 2006 by the University of Utah using participants 22-34 years of age. This study found that the impairments associated with talking on a cell phone can be as profound as those associated with driving while intoxicated during those times when drivers are directly engaged in cell phone use. (Smith)
This report is proof that texting is very much a hazard and can be as dangerous, if not more than drinking and driving. According to The Multitasking Mind distracted driving produces “jerky and unstable driving” when compared to non-distracted driving (Salvucci and Taagen 71). The poor judgment calls that these teens make can affect the lives of those who pass by them everyday. The solution to this would be problematic situation would be to change laws on texting and driving, as not
This dangerous conduct is observed amongst younger drivers as well. In a 2009 survey of 16 to 17 year olds, 26% confessed that they have texted while driving (Madden & Lenhart, 2013). The number of Americans who report being in a vehicle while a driver was texting, however, is even higher (Madden & Lenhart, 2013). Half of all American adults and teens aged 12-17 recall having been in a car in which the driver was texting (Madden & Lenhart, 2013). Just under half of all American adults (44%) and teens (40%) say that they have been a passenger in a car where the driver used a phone in a way that put themselves, or others, at risk (Madden & Lenhart, 2013). This shows that the effects of texting and driving span further than individual drivers and surrounding traffic, impacting the lives of many American passengers.
Thesis Statement: All of us have driven a vehicle before are and based on my survey results almost all of you have been distracted while driving, if not texted before. Today, we will learn about some of the outcomes of texting then we will discuss some of the solutions to permit these outcomes from happening.
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.
The number of teens who are dying or being injured as a result of texting while driving has skyrocketed as mobile device technology has advanced. Researchers at Cohen Children 's Medical Center in New Hyde Park estimate more than 3,000 annual teen deaths nationwide from texting and 300,000 injuries. The habit now surpasses the number of teens who drink and drive -- a hazard that has been on a dramatic decline in recent years, researchers say. An estimated 2,700 young people die each year as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol and 282,000 are treated in emergency rooms for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Ricks)
Plenty of people are losing their daughters, sons, or other family members because of either distracted driving or drinking and driving. Both are a big issue. Not only are people getting hurt, but parents also suffer when their children get into an accident. People do not think about the people they are hurting because of their actions. People need to take care and drive safely each time they are behind the wheel. Five seconds is the average time someone’s eyes are off the road while they are texting (“Facts and Statistics”). The majority of teens respond to a text message at least once or more every time they drive. Teens have the tendency of responding to a text message when they are driving or even when they are on their social media. Cell phone use while driving might be as or more dangerous than driving under the influence of
Texting and Driving is very dangerous many people die because of being distracted while driving. “Texting demographics” topics facts that the average teen male sends about 20 text a day. Texting and driving has received much attention people are dying everyday due to distracted drivers. This will be avoided if people pay more attention and just stay off their phone while on the road.
Almost half of all adults (forty-seven percent) admit to texting and driving in a survey by AT&T. Only thirty-four percent of teenagers ages sixteen to seventeen say they have texted while driving. This is a thirteen percent difference between adults and teens. Also, when it comes to talking on the phone while driving, adults do that more than teens too. Seventy-five percent of adults have talked on the phone while driving and fifty-two percent of teenagers have talked on the phone while driving. This is a twenty-three percent difference. (Madden, Mary, and Lee Rainie). Ninety-eight percent of adults know that distracted driving is not safe, but the trend is still on the rise. (Tsukayama, Hayley).
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
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
Texting while driving is the leading cause of death for teenagers. More than 3,000 teens die each year in crashes caused by texting and driving. Almost 2,700 teens are killed in drunk driving accidents. It is said that at any given point throughout the day, about 660,000 drivers are attempted to use their phone while driving. And about 330,000 injuries occur each year from texting while driving accidents. Eleven teens die every day due to texting and driving. In 2013, 10% of all drivers ages 15 to 19 involved in fatal accidents were reported to be distracted at the time of the crash. As cell phone use and driving becomes a national problem, and the chances of being involved in a car accident with a distracted driver increase. About 1,300,000
Using phone or tablet for texting, or talking on the phone while driving, is a way technology can cause fatal and unwanted injuries. Unfortunately this is one of the highest rates to cause a car accident. Text messaging while driving is considered dangerous and known to produce injuries and fatalities. Typing and reading text messages affects drivers’ capability to adequately direct attention to the roadway, respond the important traffic events, control a vehicle within a lane and maintain speed and headway. This analysis provides convergent evidence that texting compromises the safety of the driver, passengers and other road users. Combined efforts, including legislation, enforcement, blocking technologies, parent enforcement, social media,
Texting and driving is one of the leading causes of deaths. Besides drunk driving. There is also an overwhelming amount of texting in driving right now “A McKinsey study released this week finds that 35% of smartphone owners use their phones while driving”. (The Rosen News Team , 2013)
Driving in today’s world poses many dangers for drivers of all ages, but these risks are especially prominent for teenage drivers. These drivers do not have the experience that older drivers have obviously, but this combined with the usual arrogant know-it-all attitude of most teenagers multiplies the risks of driving.
Ever since texting became a social norm at the start of the 21th century, distracted driving, precisely texting and driving have become a problem causing numerous accidents. Many solutions have been given ever since to penalize the law and took part of the growing number of people who text and drive although they are well aware of the dangers.
A major issue in today's society is texting while driving. The biggest form of communication among people is texting. Texting while driving distracts your attention from the main task which is driving the car safely. Texting while driving is one of leading cause of car crashes.Researchers at Cohen Children's Medical Center New Hyde Park estimated 3,000 annual teen deaths nationwide from texting and 300,000 injuries (Ricks). This is more than the number of teens who drink and drive. In comparison, 2,700 teens die from drinking and driving. Because of texting and driving, there has been an increase car crashes, teen injuries and teen deaths