Driver to Distraction by David L. Strayer and William A. Johnston did an excellent job in explaining how one could go about conducting a research study and how that information could be used to answer a scientific question. The way I went about conducting my experiment was to overall assess how the use of cell phone could be dangerous when driving. Strayer and Johnston decided to conducted a similar, but yet different study than mine. In their first experiment that they conducted, they measured how a person drove with distractions -aka a cell phone- was by presenting visual signals that would indicate the participant’s reaction time. The group of forty-eight participants were divided into three groups, each of which would have their own unique distraction.…
“Amanda Clark’s phone conversation came to an abrupt end when her Chevrolet Trailblazer rolled three times before landing on its roof. She’d run a stop sign and was broadsided by another driver. Metal caved in around her but the roof stayed intact and she survived with just scrapes and bruises” (Tracy). This story of Amanda Clark’s car accident caused by distracted driving is common among people. “In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers (“Distracted Driving: Facts”).” In Idaho, between the years of 2010-2014, distracted driving caused 1,557 serious injury crashes and 207 fatal crashes. Two hundred twenty-three people were killed and 2,018 people were injured ("Distracted…
According to the CDC, in 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,267 in 2010. An additional, 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2011 compared to 416,000 people injured in 2010. In June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or received in the US, up nearly 49+% from June 2009. Research done by the CDC compared the act of talking on a cell phone or texting while driving in the United States and seven European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. They found that 65% of drivers in the United States ages 18-64 reported that they had talked on their cell phone while driving within the 30 days before they were surveyed. There are risk factors that comes with this, as we all…
This article is another informative work on the dangers on distracted driving. This article, however, includes distractions from hands-free devices that allow one to have a phone conversation without holding a phone to his or her ear. A study showed that someone texting or having a conversation on a wireless headset drove as poorly as someone whose blood alcohol concentration was above the legal limits in Australia and Spain, where this was tested (0.5 grams per liter). The study also found that when the conversation over the headset was simple, the driver drove as someone under the influence of alcohol with a 0.4 g/L BAC. When the conversation was intense, the driver drove similar to someone with a BAC of 0.7, which is almost illegal in the United States. When texting, the study found someone drives similar to someone with a BAC of 1, which is illegal in every country mentioned.…
A lot can happen when a driver is distracted. For example, there is a significant increase in driving with no hands on the wheel, not watching the road, sudden braking and wandering into other lanes which can result in lack of focus on the road, increase the chances of collisions and a hazard to pedestrians, yourself and other road users. I personally witnessed drivers on an everyday basis being distracted while driving on the road. For example, many would be texting or making a phone call, some will be looking somewhere else instead of focusing on the road ahead, and eating or drinking while one hand is on the steering wheel. All of these bad habits are unsafe and could be dangerous and contribute to why we have so many unnecessary accidents on the road…
Distracted driving is something that most individuals seem to do, because there are so many different forms of what distracted driving is. According to SafeState, using cellphones, looking outside the vehicle, individuals in the car, reaching for a device in the vehicle, eating and drinking, adjusting seatbelts or mirrors, moving objects around in the vehicle include…
Statistics prove driver distraction can cause accidents, injuries and death. In the article “Distracted Driving: Facts and Statistics” states “In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers” (par. 5). Distracted driving is increasing as media and electronic devices are improving. From 2005 to 2008, distracted driving has increased. In 2005 there were 4572 fatalities involving distracted driving. It increased to 5870 fatalities in 2008. A 28% incline of accidents as more electronic devices are developing. In 2008,…
Every day that people drive and do not get in an accident, think of how many other people do. Each day there are over a 1,000 people who are getting hurt by distracted while driving and 9 people die while trying to attempt it or just doing it (Halsey). Now that this century has more technology than ever before, some of these appliances are in our vehicles. People can now get distracted while texting, talking, trying to mess with the radio, trying to make a navigator work,and simply putting a disc in a player . With all of these distractions around us while driving, there is more of a chance to attempt this. Distracted driving is dangerous, so think about how a person can hurt themselves or even get killed by doing this. Every year there are…
It is no secret that people send texts, eat, or fiddle with the radio on their way to work. It is such a common occurrence that nobody sees anything wrong with it, but the truth is quite the opposite. Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of death among young adults. Over 3,000 people died in 2014 due to distracted driving accidents, and more than 430,000 were injured by distracted drivers. Ten percent of drivers aged fifteen to nineteen involved in fatal car crashes were reported as being distracted at the time of the incident. No text message is worth risking the lives of people around them. The message can wait, put the phone and food down.…
Texting and driving is a distraction no one can afford. Lives can be changed forever due to texting instead of paying attention to the road. Sometimes people are injured and their lives are changed forever. People don't always die from distracted driving. The mental and emotional scars can be worse. Occasionally there are those who had to drop out of school or can’t find a job, due to injuries or every day pain. People need to realize paying attention to the road is more important than texting anyone for any reason. So how can we solve this problem? Does it need solved? There is only one way to look at this issue. Distractions, such as texting and driving, can be eliminated in Iowa by promoting safe driving habits, programming restrictions…
Alongside the major cause of distracted driving, there are significant negative effects of this trend. One negative effect is that families now have to take care of family members who didn’t need to be taken care of before. In his documentary, Herzog interviews another family. Debbie Drewniak was the woman who was hit by a car while the driver was tecting and driving, now she has a double vision, her arms doesn’t work very well, her balance is not good, and she have hard time talking and remembering stuff. She is an adult women who before used to work sixty or more hours per week, traveling around the world, but now her sister Elizabeth and her brother Karl have to take care of her. As Elizabeth talks about her sister’s condition, she says,…
The popularization of advanced technologies today leads to the distracted driving directly. As smartphones and other electronic devices are getting more popular nowadays, more and more people use their phones while driving. As Sarah Doody proofs the fact in her article, Incentivize People to Ignore Their Phones while Driving, there is a shocking number of people use their phones while driving, their eyes were off the road because they paid attention to the screens (Doody, 2016). Of course there are many other types of distractions such as eating and drinking, changing clothes or talking to passengers, but the rapid development and popularization of technologies are the biggest threats for drivers. Thus, in order to prevent distracted driving, the related departments of government should reinforce the laws and find programs to educate drivers about the dangers of distracted driving in depth.…
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention believes nine people die each day as a result of distracted driving. Another 1,060, according to their estimates, are injured. Sadly, these numbers might not accurately reflect the extent of this problem, as many accidents may be attributed to others causes when they are actually the result of a distracted driver. Although individuals know the dangers of driving and texting, a survey conducted in 2013 by AT&T found…
Awareness campaigns, education, law enforcement, and harsher penalties are all ways the government has tried to lower distracted driving rates (Robertson, 2015, 8-12). Tips such as allowing plenty of travel time, turning off or ignoring the smart phone, or using alternative devices like voice recognition, auto responder, and text blockers are also all ideas the government has tried to convey to stop distracted driving (Post Media Network, 2016). However, even through all the efforts to reduce the significant issue of distracted driving, people still do not recognize the risk it holds on their lives and still continue to do it (Lagerquist, 2016). Several drivers believe they can multitask while driving, however, it is estimated that only…
No matter the age a person may be, his/her actions affect others; especially when they’re operating a vehicle capable of injuring or taking one’s life. Distracted driving poses great risks to the driver’s life and others on the road as it increases the probability of a tragic accident. Numerous lives are being lost each day due to distracted driving and not abiding by the laws. In today’s society, ignored warnings increase the possibility of death; influenced by both alcohol and drugs in addition to technology.…