Distracted Driving Essay

Everyone knows you shouldn’t drive distracted. Looking down for even a second while eating, adding condiments to your hotdog, changing the song on your playlist or occasionally checking your text messages could result in lifelong injury or even death. Although, how serious is this in the modern day world? With hands free calling and other technological advances, is distracted driving not as big of an issue as it was 10 or maybe even 20 years ago?
Distracted driving happens when a person is operating a vehicle and partakes in a different activity that divides his/her attention. This usually happens when someone is using an electronic related device. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other agencies there
are three specific subtypes of distracted driving: visual, manual, and cognitive. (Distracted Driving, 1). Visual distractions occur when a driver takes his or her eyes off the road. Manual distractions occur when a driver takes his or her hands off the steering wheel, and cognitive distractions occur when a driver’s focus and/or attention are divided between driving and other tasks. (Distracted Driving, 1) Texting and driving ensues all 3 of these distractions. First, visually when you first receive the incoming message and your phone lights up, causing you to take your eyes off the road and look to see who it’s from. Then, manual the act of picking up your phone to respond, moving your hands off the wheel to partake in a different activity. Finally, cognitively when you’re responding back to the message, clearly dividing your attention between the two.
Although cell phone usage is not the only causes of these distractions. A child can also be the leading cause. According to one study, 60 percent of parents felt driving alone with an infant strapped in a rear-facing car seat in the back seat was "very distracting." Eighty percent feared it could cause an accident. In 2001 the American Automobile Association reported that young children in the car were one of the leading causes of driver-distraction crashes for people ages 20 to 29. Texting might be more widespread now, but the impact of a screaming child certainly hasn't changed (Children Distract Drivers as Much as Cell Phone Use, 1). Most parents use a pacifier in order to silence their child’s piercing screams, but even that might not be a permanent fix if the pacifier is thrown by an irritable child. Visual, manual and cognitive distractions still occur in this scenario. Visual distractions can take the parent’s eyes off the road as they try to see where the pacifier landed. Manual distractions takes their hands off the wheel and causes them to reach behind their seat to retrieve the flung pacifier. Cognitive distractions take their minds off the road as they think about why they’ve had kids in the first place. Making driving around as a parent a big distraction as well as cellphone use.
There have been many cases of multitasking and crashes as well.
For example, Mark Stevens is a multitasking maniac. A couple of months ago [in 2007], the White Plains, New York, marketing consultant was working his cell phone with one hand and his Blackberry with the other while trying to steer his Mercedes SL500 with his wrists and knees—when he plowed it into a rental vehicle in an Enterprise parking lot. That followed his fourth ticket in four years for talking on his cell phone while driving (Multitasking Leads to Distracted Driving, 1). Although this is an example of an extreme case, there’s a little bit of Mark Stevens in us too. Distracted driving is becoming an epidemic. A recent survey by Nationwide Insurance quantified some of the trend's scary dimensions. More than 80 percent of drivers surveyed identified themselves as multitaskers. Sixty-eight percent eat while driving; texting or instant-messaging while driving, or fixing hair, is practiced by 19 percent of drivers; 14 percent comfort or discipline children while behind the wheel; and 8 percent drive with a pet in their laps (Multitasking Leads to Distracted Driving, 2). Even weather conditions seem to have little effect on a driver's ability to multitask. An extreme snowstorm or heavy rain doesn’t stop the most cautious drivers from doing outlandish things behind the wheel, including reading, shaving and balancing their
checkbook.
Granted there are many more technological advances like hands free calling, blocking text applications and do not disturb features.
Smartphone apps that temporarily disable incoming text messages and other driving distractions can be turned on manually before the driver starts the car, or can kick in automatically when the phone's motion sensor detects an appropriate amount of acceleration. For parents installing the app on their children's phones, the program automatically sends a message if the teenager disables the software. (Eyes on the Road, Not on the Phone, 1). This will solve some of the distracted driving issues, but at stop signs and red lights the child could re access the phone and its applications. This could cause them to not pay attention and hit the back of another car or drive slowly in order to access their phone. Another safety measure are that rumble strips have also been added to reduce the number of crashes. This way when a driver is being distracted and drifts out of their lanes, the rumbling that the ridges make will bring them back into their lanes. According to Bill Windsor, an associate vice president of safety for Columbus-based Nationwide Insurance, "Driver behavior is only getting worse. Car design and safety features have helped reduce fatalities over the last 10 years, but there are signs—such as an increase in fatalities among pedestrians and motorcyclists—that problems with driving behavior are starting to outstrip vehicle and roadway
improvements" (Multitasking Leads to Distracted Driving, 3). Not to mention, one study reveals that when drivers talk, text, e-mail, or access the Internet on their cell phones, their likelihood of an accident increases by more than 163 times. Furthermore, other research indicates that talking on handheld and hands-free cell phones similarly degrade driving performance. (Cell Phone Use While Driving Should Be Banned, 1-2)