Don't Text and Drive
Victoria Long
Composition I
25 June 2012
Don 't Text and Drive What does it mean to be a distracted driver? Every day, each and every second, there are car accidents that caused by texting while driving. Over the years, driving while texting has been rated as the most dangerous of all distractions. How does texting while driving be so distracted? According to the Official US Government Website for Distracted Driving, the three main types of distraction are visual, manual, and cognitive. Visual distraction means take eyes off the road. Manual distraction means take hands off the wheel, and cognitive means take mind off the road. Texting while driving is the most dangerous because it involves all three main types of distraction. It takes away all the three important things that are needed for safe driving: eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and mind on driving. Therefore, texting while driving should be ban. Manual distraction is the second cause that runs a high risk of leading into an accident. Like visual distraction, manual distraction can be seen through the external behavior of the drivers. Examples could range from fixing his or her hair, holding a cup of coffee, changing the radio stations, to the most obvious example, texting. When drivers take their hands off the wheel, they don 't have full control of the wheel. As a result, the driver 's attention is focused on the manual task rather than focusing on the road. The third distraction involves cognition. Cognitive distraction occurs when drivers taking their mind off the road. When talking about cognitive distraction, most people will consider the multitasking of the brain. How many functions human brains can perform at the same time? People often think that they can do two things at the same time. For example, some people say that they can talk on the hands-free phone while driving. According to the Nation Safety Council 's White Paper March 2010, human brains do not perform two tasks at the
Composition I
25 June 2012
Don 't Text and Drive What does it mean to be a distracted driver? Every day, each and every second, there are car accidents that caused by texting while driving. Over the years, driving while texting has been rated as the most dangerous of all distractions. How does texting while driving be so distracted? According to the Official US Government Website for Distracted Driving, the three main types of distraction are visual, manual, and cognitive. Visual distraction means take eyes off the road. Manual distraction means take hands off the wheel, and cognitive means take mind off the road. Texting while driving is the most dangerous because it involves all three main types of distraction. It takes away all the three important things that are needed for safe driving: eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and mind on driving. Therefore, texting while driving should be ban. Manual distraction is the second cause that runs a high risk of leading into an accident. Like visual distraction, manual distraction can be seen through the external behavior of the drivers. Examples could range from fixing his or her hair, holding a cup of coffee, changing the radio stations, to the most obvious example, texting. When drivers take their hands off the wheel, they don 't have full control of the wheel. As a result, the driver 's attention is focused on the manual task rather than focusing on the road. The third distraction involves cognition. Cognitive distraction occurs when drivers taking their mind off the road. When talking about cognitive distraction, most people will consider the multitasking of the brain. How many functions human brains can perform at the same time? People often think that they can do two things at the same time. For example, some people say that they can talk on the hands-free phone while driving. According to the Nation Safety Council 's White Paper March 2010, human brains do not perform two tasks at the
Bibliography: 1. National Safety Council. Web. <http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Documents/Dstrct_Drvng_White_Paper_1_2011.pdf>. 2. Distraction.Gov. Web. <http://www.distraction.gov/stats-and-facts/>.