Persuasive Essay On Texting While Driving

Texting While Driving In 2011, at least 23% of auto collisions involved cell phones which equal 1.3 million crashes. In the year 2009 alone, nearly 5,870 innocent lives were taken due to careless driving while using a cell phone behind the wheel. In statistics of Oklahoma 2008 car crashes, 1298 accidents were cell phone related, nine of which resulting in death. Overall cell phones cause roughly a quarter of all accidents in the United States. “And a rough consensus between science, policy, and public opinion appears to be emerging that the distraction caused by the acts of physically typing into a phone and looking at a screen constitutes a significant threat to traffic safety.” Now day’s phones have become popular but unfortunately we have yet to
learn the right and wrong times in which to use them.
Many drivers today have such busy lives and never have time to get the things they need to do complete in one day’s time. This leaves them to get things done while on the road. Checking emails is a top priority for Americans and since many have Smartphone’s, they will do it on the road as well as send text messages. There have been studies conducted to try and compare drunk driving to texting while driving and those findings have led to new state and federal laws being made. People think that they can multitask and text while they drive but in reality most can’t and all shouldn’t. While the service of having text messaging is convenient, people can send messages to anyone during anytime of the day and anywhere. Ever since there was text messaging, society has become more aware of the dangers that it brings to driving. “The findings suggest that texting while driving behavior may be partially attributable to individuals doing so without awareness, control, attention, and intention regarding their own actions.” Driving is an activity that requires a person’s full concentration. All it takes is for a driver to take their eyes off
the road for a split second for a car crash to happen. This particular “Texting While Driving” ad has many repetitive details. The texting theme is included by using the text message font throughout the ad. It’s also used in the way the question, “Dying 2 snd a reply?” on the ad is formed. The ad also uses the text font on the eyes and the mouth of the dead body. By incorporating this theme in several areas of the ad it provides consistency. It shows the importance of the message that the ad is trying to convey. There is also repetition in the overall tone the ad sets. The ad uses colors such as gray, white, and calm shades of blue to present a gloomy feeling. The lack of vivid colors shows the seriousness of the ad and the idea that is being portrayed. The ad also has several strands. Its uses calm colors like white, blue, and grey so that the central theme won’t be distracted and so the ad won’t lose its seriousness. There are details that create a strand that shows the fatality of texting while driving. There is a body of a young woman, maybe in the range of 18-25 years of age. The deceased woman is on a lab tray that is often used for autopsy. My ad has binary opposition within it. On one side, it’s just words that state not to text and drive because it could be fatal. On the other side, a more severe perspective is shown by using a dead body. If the ad just had words explaining not to text and drive it wouldn’t draw much attention. By adding a body, especially one of a young person, it attracts the eyes of every age group. The ad has a very blunt and persuasive message. Do not text and drive because it can lead to death. Texting distracts the driver from the road which can lead to accidents. When someone takes attention off the steering wheel and gives some of it to a cell phone, they are taking away attention that should be focused on what’s going on around them. Poor driving experience combined with distractions can lead to crashes. Texting while driving cannot only risk the driver but can also risk other drivers. The rates of deaths caused by texting while driving is outrageous.. Texting drivers are more likely to be involved in a crash than non-texting drivers. Many people still want to keep texting while driving knowing the circumstances. All licensed drivers must realize that no one is invincible and we must all adhere to the social responsibility we have. When we agree to drive a motor vehicle we undergo various test in order to be prepared and qualified but making such decision we are also entering into a silent contract with one another, that contract states that we will all assume responsibility for the wellbeing of each other, in other words we won’t put the life of others at risk. Yet, we continue to, every day by eating, drinking our morning coffee and by even by making calls and sending text messages. I cannot imagine what it is like to lose someone I love, like a sister or a friend, in the hands of a stranger who consciously made the decision to violate society’s silent contract. But as proven by facts the reality is that not everyone is as lucky.
Texting and the affects it has on teens is a big issue that we have in America. Texting while driving a vehicle is the leading cause of accidents and deaths of teenage drivers. Text messaging, or texting, is a trend that lets someone send instant messages to another person from a person’s phone to their home or cellular phone. It is an easy way to tell someone something if someone is unable to call them. It is a dangerous habit and very distracting. Even a quick glance at a phone can distract someone just enough to cause a car accident. For every two seconds that a driver has their eyes off the road to read a text, or answer/make a phone call, they are twice as likely to have an accident. The average teen receives an average of 2, 899 texts a month, a lot of which are while they are behind the wheel. A 2007 study conducted by AAA and Seventeen magazines showed that 61 percent of teens admit to risky driving habits and 46 percent of that 61 admit that they were texting while driving. As more people become more technology savvy, this number is expected to grow, not only to teens, but to adults as well. A driver using a cell phone can cut a drivers reaction time to that of a 70 year old, which can cause serious accidents. Drivers not only find it hard to concentrate on the road way, and pay attention to what is in front of or around them, but they find it hard to stay in their own lane while texting. Although there have been no formal studies done on traffic deaths contributed specifically to text messaging while driving, text messaging has become the main form of communication among teenagers. Car crashes are the leading cause of deaths among teen drivers – more than drugs, guns or disease. As popular as text messaging is among today’s teens, there need to be laws put in place to prevent the cause of accidents on the roadways.

Works Cited
Bayer J, Campbell S. Texting while driving on automatic: Considering the frequency- independent side of habit. Computers In Human Behavior [serial online]. November 2012;28(6):2083-2090. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 12, 2013.
Rosenberger R. An Argument Against "No-Look Texting" While Driving. IEEE Technology & Society Magazine [serial online]. March 2013;32(1):53-59. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 12, 2013