In the study conducted by David L. Strayer and Frank A. Drews the researchers examined the effects of operating hands free devices mainly cell phones for this study, while performing driving tasks in order to determine just how much the devices can divert or distract the operator of the vehicle during their use. The authors conducted four different experimental studies with various scenarios as a means to pinpoint and observe whether an individual can operate a vehicle and still be able to concentrate their attention to the task at hand. The reason the study was performed was because earlier data in another study suggested that drivers had a slower reaction time while operating hands free devices and this also made the driver more susceptible to running traffic lights. However, in the study it was…
Distracted driving is a modern day epidemic. The National Safety Council reports that cellphone use while driving leads to over one-million car accidents a year. This image clearly shows the dangers of using electronics while on the road.…
Using the cellphone while driving can kill and should be outlawed. What makes so dangerous is that you are not focusing on road. In the article How the Brain reacts by Marcel Just and Tim Keller -Marcel is a D.O professor of psychology…
First of all, distraction is one of the major causes leading to accidents. From the moment of picking up the phone, to read a text, to the moment it is being put back down, there is a loss of sight from the road which could either result in a life threatening accident, or a lucky escape from a life threatening accident. A Nationwide survey has shown that 45 percent of Americans said they've either been hit or nearly hit by a driver on a cell phone (Saletan 2). It is a split second of loss of focus on the road that could cost someone their life. Texting while driving makes people lose vision from the road and makes them forget what is going on around them, and that is what makes it so dangerous. One study showed that “the more tasks you dump on drivers—listening, evaluating, answering questions—the worse they perform. They drift off course, miss cues, overlook hazards, and react slowly. It's the picture of a mind being sucked from one world into another”(Saletan 2). All of these add up to a series of events which can occur to a driver while texting behind the wheel who did not even notice what happened. That is when they suddenly look up and try to react in time while it is actually already too late to react, and they end up in an accident. People do not see the real danger of it until either they themselves experience a life threatening accident while texting and…
Distractions, such as talking or texting on a cell phone, can cause drivers to take their eyes off the road for a few seconds, long enough to have difficulty responding to hazards and staying in their lane. These seemingly innocuous acts also can affect their mental focus. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that cell phone use behind the wheel actually reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent ("A dangerous distraction," 2013). A report from the University of Utah (search) says when motorists between 18 and 25 talk on cell phones, they drive like elderly people — moving and reacting more slowly and increasing their risk of accidents ("Study: Teens on," 2005). It doesn't matter whether the phone is hand-held or hands-free. Any activity requiring a driver to "actively be part of a conversation" likely will impair driving abilities ("Study: Teens on," 2005). A 1997 Canadian study published in The New England Journal of Medicine used phone records to evaluate cell phone use patterns. Crash risk was found to be four times greater when drivers were using a cell phone, whether hand-held or hands-free. A more recent study using simulators published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology reported similar findings ("A dangerous distraction," 2013).…
People may urge that they are responsible enough to operate a cell phone and drive at the same time but if this were the case why is it that many injuries and deaths have been involved inquiring these two? We are completely distracted when using our phone. Their not only being used for talking, but sending texts, playing games, and simply not concentrating on the road. When your not focusing specifically on the road you are at risk. Not only putting yourself in danger but passengers, other vehicle, and bystanders as well.…
Using a cell phone while driving can cause the driver to take their eye off the road and cause them to think about what’s going on with their cell phone. When a phone call comes through on the driver’s cell phone, this distracts them from paying attention to the road. This is a major cause of accidents and deaths on the road. This also is putting drivers life in danger. While drivers may think they can handle talking on the phone they tend to miss visual and audio clues to avoid crashes. For example, there could be a crash on the highway. Drivers pick up their cell phone to call spouse or a friend to inform them of the trouble car crash. In the split second you looked down to dial the number you didn’t see the sign that said “right lane closed.” You then look up and realize that you are now in the right lane were the accident occurred. Before you could slow down or even stop you run into the back of a car that was just in an accident. Now because you picked up your cell phone instead of consternating on the road you put yourself in a situation you did not have to be in. This is just a few reasons why concentration on the road is so critical to prevent accidents.…
The use of cellular devices while driving is now illegal in some states. This is due to the fact that when drivers behind the wheel of a car their only priority should be to drive. While driving and on a phone at the same time a driver is going to be distracted, and when drivers are distracted they are more likely to cause or be involved in an accident. Although it may seem entertaining and fun, driving while using a cellular device can lead to major problems. For example, driving while on a handheld device will lead to distracted driving. It has been scientifically proven that humans are not good at multitasking. We tend to put most of our focus into one thing at a time, while leaving the other task setting in the background. Because of this…
Eyes are the most important thing needed when driving, and when people are not paying attention and they’re eyes are not on the road, a lot of harm can be caused. It is not out of the ordinary to see someone glancing down at his/her phone while they’re driving. Texting while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old. “Drivers sending or receiving texts take their eyes off the road for at least 5 seconds which is enough to cover an entire football field, and one could only imagine the tremendous amount of damage that can be done driving across a football field with unopened eyes” (textinganddrivingstatistics). When anyone is first taught how to drive, they learn to keep their hands on the wheel, and their eyes on the road. But these simple rules are being disobeyed on a daily basis due to texting and driving.…
In addition, another reason why you shouldn’t be on your phone and drive is that it can increase death rates. Furthermore everyone drives and goes on their phone the chance of a crash and someone dying goes way up. SpringBoard says, “That combination of the 3: Visual, manual, and the cognitive distraction significantly increase the crash risk.” If everyone’s looking at their phone and not paying attention they will most likely crash. Another quote from SpringBoard, “They’re not looking at the road. They’re not staying in their lane. They’re missing traffic…
Which is “by far the most alarming distraction while driving because it requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver,” (What is Distracted Driving) consequently meaning all three aspect which should always be focused on the road are taken away making the driver almost blind and oblivious to the road. Texting while operating a vehicle is positively the worst distraction because it has been calculated by scientists that when a driver is “sending or receiving a text message he or she takes their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of this, at fifty-five miles per hour, is driving the length of a football field” (Distracted Driving 2009). Just imagine how many things could go wrong in that amount of road, especially at that speed a great deal of serious damage and possibly even death could result from just that one text message. However, there are also many other devices and actions the driver may partake in to diverge his or her attention away from the road such as “ using cell phone or smart phone, eating and drinking, talking to a passenger, grooming, reading (including maps), using a navigation system, watching a video and adjusting a radio, CD player or MP3 player” (What is Distracted Driving). All these activities are common among every person while driving. Some of these activities being so common for people to do in a car, that some do not even think of them as distracting while operating a motor vehicle, especially the ones where the driver is only eating, drinking or just talking to the passenger. But when we think about it after hearing so many of these statistics we can see how many elements that are crucial to driving can be impaired by some simple multi tasking by the driver to save some time through their day or just making naïve…
Distracted driving is not just limited to cell phone use while driving. It can include behaviors such as shaving, eating, drinking, talking, or even listening to the radio. With these behaviors, both hands may not be on the wheel, eyes may not be fixed on the road, or attention could be transfixed on other noises and surroundings. Accidents happen once attention is taken off of the road. One glance at a text message could take three seconds. In three seconds a driver could have drifted off into the other lane, or not have seen the person stop suddenly in front of them. Changing the radio can also be very distracting. Having to scroll through numerous radio stations and mess with the volume can be difficult to do without having to actually look at the radio. Even drinking can cause distracted driving. If a driver is drinking coffee and it spills for example, their automatic reaction will be to jolt from their seat a little or try to quickly clean it up. While cleaning the mess the driver can swerve without knowing it.…
The driver is not the only one affected. If the distracted driver hits someone, then the other person is affected as well. According to McFeatters, “The deaths of twenty five people and injuries to 135 others in a 2008 California train crash was attributed to cell-phone use.” This means that thousands of Americans are suffering injuries and deaths due to irresponsible drivers who decide to make phone call or text while driving. The use of cell phones on the road is not worth the risk of someone’s life. For example, about six months ago, I was driving on the highway no more than twenty five miles per hour. While I was driving I received a text message. I looked down for a couple of seconds to answer. When I looked up again, I did not see the truck that was in front of me had totally stopped. The next thing I knew I had crashed my car. Luckily, nothing happened to me, but my car was a total loss. According to Rachtel, “Studies show that motorists who send or receive a text message have a tendency to take their eyes off the road for five seconds to do so. That is enough time for their car to travel more than the length of a football field at highway speeds.” Unfortunately, many young people think that while driving answering a call or text would not make a difference, but what they do not realize is that it only takes couple of seconds for an accident to occur. This involves the lives of innocent…
Cell phone use in the car is just as dangerous as drunk driving. “[W]hether it’s hand-held or hands-free, [it] delays a driver 's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent” (Statistics and Facts About Distracted Driving). A person on the phone may get distracted or carried away with the conversation, making it a dangerous drive. When on the phone, people do not look carefully and do not notice their surroundings. Instead, they are fixated on the conversation that they are having with the person on the other side of the line. Many collisions and even deaths have resulted from this careless behavior. There have been “32,000 traffic accidents caused by distracted drivers,” says The AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety that released a study by the University of North Carolina Highway…
According to ENDD.org, over 78% of all distracted drivers are distracted because they were on their cell phone. A driver who is receiving a call of a text will take their eyes off the road to look at their phone. One of four car accidents in the United States is caused because the use of cellular devices. Even using hands-free technology requires the driver to take their eyes off the road causing dangerous driving…