Texting And Driving On Distracted Driving

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.

“Text messaging … had the longest duration of eyes-off-road time of 4.6 seconds at a six second interval. This equates to a driver traveling the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour without looking at the roadway.” This statement was made by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute when they did a texting while driving study (“Skip Menu”). Texting while driving has become a large problem in the United States and it is growing. There are about 1,600,000 accidents per year as a result of texting while driving. Texting while driving has become a bigger problem for teenagers than drinking while intoxicated. In an article Delthia Ricks wrote for Newsday, she says:

During 2012-2015, more than 13,000 traffic deaths nationwide were due to distracted driving. It is believed that distracted drivers are 23 times more likely to get into a traffic accident as compared to those who are completely focused on the road.

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

In recent years, car accidents have been a drastic problem than it used to be decades ago, because of the new technology and social media system that we have been using. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the recent most popular app, Snapchats have been changing life. I believe these social media tools, are the key causes of most car accidents. For instance, many drivers who are teenagers through mid age use Snapchat to follow up with what they are doing. Drivers will be snapping about the things they see while driving. However, there are many other things that can causes problems when driving. George A. Peters and Barbara J. Peters wrote an article, “The Distracted: How Dangerous is “Multitasking”? Discussing about how to reduce the chances of getting into an accident, authors tries to encourage the drivers to drive safe showing the reaction time and distraction stage chart. The authors in depth essay uses causal, evaluation, and proposal argument.

In today's society, our moble devices have become our pirmary means of communication. While there have been many positive results from this improved technology, it has also created one very dangerous situation, distracted driving. Distracted driving has always been a problem with people changing radio stations, eating and drinking while driving, or simply looking at people walking down the street instead of keeping their eyes on the road. Texting and driving has created a far worse situation than any of these common distractions. Many laws have already been put in place to help curb this issue, but none of them have been very successful thus far. The question is: Is it time to enact laws against texting and driving as tough as drinking and driving laws?

There are many dangers when both drinking while driving and texting while driving. In this essay the two will be compared and contrasted to find why people do them even with the dangerous consequences. Drivers think they can text while driving and also drink while driving because they think they can get away with it because nothing has affected them in the past while doing it. Michael Austin states, “Texting, also known as SMS (for short message service), is on the rise, up from 9.8 billion messages a month in December ’05 to 110.4 billion in December ’08”. What does it mean to all drivers to text and drive,

Over-consumption is one of the most detrimental things to society today. The United States as a whole is a prime leader in over-consumption. Consumption to a certain degree is acceptable and is somewhat expected in a society where everything is as fast paced as it is in the U.S. The consumption topic that I am choosing to analyze is the overuse of technology. I am not arguing that technology is detrimental to society. In fact, I believe that technology has allowed the U.S. to make a great leap forward in establishing itself as a worldwide leader. What I am arguing, rather, is that the overuse of technology is detrimental to society. The overuse of technology can be detrimental to society in very miniscule ways which does not pose a threat

At a red light it is nearly impossible to find a driver who is NOT on the phone. A recent AAA study reveals that distracted driving is a huge factor and impacts 6 out of 10 serious accidents involving teenagers. Yet still drivers use their phones while driving, whether its checking emails, social media accounts, GPS systems…they are ALL distractions. The device that will hopefully limit texting and driving is called Drive ID. Drive ID is assembled as a unit that sticks to the windshield under the rearview mirror. Its connected via Bluetooth connection and blocks the driver from using their phone while the car is in motion, except for making emergency phone calls. Drive ID stops drivers from receiving and sending phone calls and text messages,

The effects of texting while driving has garnered considerable media attention lately. The media tends to describe only fatal crashes that increase the public’s hysteria, but there are many safe driving measurements that are also inhibited and affected by texting that do not lead to fatal injuries. Texting while driving includes actually typing on the phone, reading messages, and doing both simultaneously. Research has shown that texting while driving produces distractions that result in impaired visual and impaired physical reactions. There are many ideas to help decrease texting while driving and create safer driving conditions for drivers and others on the roadways.

The main issue with teenagers and their interaction with phones is that they are always attached to them; especially while driving. When adolescent drivers use their phones while driving, they get distracted; looking away from the road attached to social media, calls, or texting their friends. Teenagers tend to text and drive which can really affect their performance and increase their chances of crashing; and even getting killed.

According to Table 2, entitled “Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes by Age, Distraction, and Cell Phone Use in 2013”, completed by the United States Department of Transportation and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration- reflect the high numbers of fatalities in the age group of 20-29. The percent of drivers, on their cell phones, in this age group is 20-38%, which is the highest out of all age groups. In another shows that 14% of distracted drivers are on the phone. Also 14% of crashes and fatalities are caused by texting drivers. Another article, “Facts and Statistics”, issued by the United States Department of Transportation and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shows the death rates and crash rates in 2014. In 2014 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in a car crash caused by a driver that was texting. Most of the drivers in these crashes were between the ages of 15 and 19. The percent of drivers texting went up from 1.7% in 2013 to 2.2% in 2014. With this there are many ways to prevent deaths and

Texting in cars and trucks causes over 3,000 deaths and 330,000 injuries per year, according to a Harvard Centre for Risk Analysis study.

The problem society has with young teens and adults are texting while driving causing a distraction. Distracted by technology and worrying about social media is becoming a big problem with having technology at the tip of your fingers. Snapchat and Facebook are big app contributors to social media being used while driving. Having technology attached to your body 24/7 is becoming an issue. A simple text message can ruin your life forever. One simple glance down at your phone can change your point of view. You never know when the unexpected might happen. Cell phone companies are now rewarding drivers who are not texting and driving. Officers have started to crack down more on drivers who are driving

According to Adrienne (2017) , “Nearly 3,500 people were killed and nearly 400,000 people were injured in accidents caused by distracted driving in 2015” (P.5). Because of the rate that crashes are happening, a ban on distracted driving is becoming bigger. But will it solve the problem? Opposing the fact that people are trying to make a bigger ban on texting and driving is the best option. With the thought of laws becoming more rigorous and people's mindset becoming less alert, is frightening. We know there is a problem with texting and driving but a phone is second nature to us. We forget to realize according to Bromwich (2017), “it’s not what your hands are doing, it’s what your brain is doing” (p.2). Even the thought of a text message can distract your driving, leaving you without your full attention on the road. It’s a habit that will be continually hard to break. The law not only needs to understand that paying a fine for texting and driving is not working, but also a habit that is done by everyone is not easy to overcome.