Driver distraction can be defined as a diversion of the mental attention away from activities or skills needed for safe driving and completion of the activity. A distraction is a fact of having a person’s concentration disturbed by any external or internal stimuli. (Regan, 2007) When drivers are distracted, their attention is divided between the “primary tasks” of driving and “secondary non-driving tasks” such as conversation, radio listening, and technology use. These external stimuli causes the driver’s cognitive skills to be used to analyse both the road situation and the secondary task, resulting to the impairment of the driver’s situational consciousness, decision-making skills and driving performance. Driver distractions…
“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…
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.…
How do distractions affect one’s driving? There are many factors which can distract a driver on the road. Distracted driving can occur any time a driver's attention is taken away from where they should be focusing their concentration - the driving task. There are many different types of distractions, both inside and outside the car.…
Utah highways because they ran off the road. I honestly would have thought that the most…
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…
Distracted driving is exactly what it sounds like. Distracted driving is driving while distracted. These distractions can range anywhere from eating to using a cell phone while driving- texting or calling, from loud music to having friends and family members in the car with you while you are driving. Almost anything can be a distraction as long as it takes your attention away from driving for anytime as short as five seconds. In fact, one study it said that eighty percent of all crashes and collisions and that at least sixty five percent of near crashes and collisions have to do with the driver being inattentive or distracted while behind the wheel. Three seconds may not seem like a very long at all, and it may not be…
How would you like being in a car driving then all of sudden you get in a crash and die. 4,of 5 teenagers aged 13 to 19 died in auto accidents,6,000 of those 4,000 are the results of distracted driving. Being a safe driver is important because it impacts the individual and the community.…
In today’s world people are doing everything under the sun when it comes to driving. Things are different now than it was ten years go. Young people are most likely to get distracted than older people while driving. Driving down high way I see people either texting, eating, or playing.…
Recently in 2013, a new law has been passed making texting and driving illegal. This law was approved because of the mass amount of accidents occurring due to the operator of a vehicle texting while driving. I do not believe a Public Service Announcement about this topic will reduce the number of distracted driving related incidents. Other people believe this type of announcement will in fact reduce the number of distracted driving related accidents. Texting isn 't the only type of distracted driving. It can be anything from brushing your hair to talking to a passenger. Even the most common actions like adjusting the air conditioner or radio can distract someone driving.…
“Baseball is like driving, it’s the one who gets home safely that counts” Tommy Lasorda. Getting home safely while driving is not as easy as it may seem. Many people urge to argue that distractions while driving will do no harm. This may be true, but with one wrong turn, someone's life could be at it’s last minutes. Therefore, tougher laws are needed to combat distracted driving because simple education on this topic is failing to work, unnecessary costs are needed to be dealt with, and it causes deaths and injuries.…
Distractions affect drivers of all ages, and are one of the leading causes of accidents. I did not think that this was as serious as it sounded until I started driving myself. I noticed that when I talked to my mother while driving I sometimes got enthused, excited or agitated and often swerved or swayed into the next lane or onto the shoulder. I had to learn to talk but keep my focus on the road. Another distraction for me is eating while driving, I tend to follow my food with my eyes and drive with one hand. I can just imagine what I would do if I dropped something on my lap like hot chocolate.…
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…
Distracted driving has always been a problem with our country since cars were invented but recently it has become an even bigger issue, now it is the leading cause of teen deaths. In our day and age cars have gotten faster and technology has gotten more advanced. We now have cell phones that can do multiple things and our cars also have their own technology. Cell phones pose the main threat towards distracted driving especially for teens. Since phones have been getting more advanced and being able to do more things on them, teens are especially susceptible to being on their phone while driving.…
Driving dangerously due to distractions is extremely hazardous as it may result in the loss of life. Although many people think being distracted while operating a vehicle isn't the end of the world, it…