Well I´m sure, most of us have texted while driving at least once…
Let me tell you, that according to the Distraction.gov (official U.S. Goverment website for distracted driving), Texting is the most alarming distraction because it involves manual, visual, and cognitive distraction simultaneously.
If it's so dangerous, why do people do it?
Some people still don't know how dangerous distracted driving is. Others know about the risks of texting while driving, but still choose to do so anyway. They make the mistake of thinking the statistics don't apply to them, that they can defy the odds. Still others simply lead busy, stressful lives and use cell phones and smartphones to stay connected with their families, friends, and workplaces. They forget or choose not to shut these devices off when they get behind the wheel.
The popularity of mobile devices has had some unintended and even dangerous consequences. We now know that mobile communications is linked to a significant increase in distracted driving, resulting in injury and loss of life. To stem this problem, the Federal Communications Commission is working with the car industry, safety organizations and other government agencies to inform and educate the public about the dangers of distracted driving. The FCC is also seeking to identify and facilitate the development of innovative technologies that could reduce the incidence of distracted driving.
The publishing of The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “Blueprint for ending distracted driving” in the page 3 says: With more than 300 million wireless subscriptions in America today and a growing number of devices and services designed to keep people constantly connected (such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram and others), technology is playing an increasing role in enhancing our quality of life. Yet using these technologies while you’re behind the wheel can have devastating consequences.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that there are at least 3,000 deaths annually from distraction-affected crashes— crashes in which drivers lost focus on the safe control of their vehicles due to manual, visual, or cognitive distraction.
While progress has been made in the fight to end distracted driving, there is much more to do to end this dangerous practice. It’s clear the problem is complex and the solutions require parents, teens, educa tors, employers, industry, and government to get involved. Still, the first line of defense against this risky behavior must be personal responsibility by all drivers to put their wireless devices away and keep their focus on the road.
By the way, starting Oct. 1, texting while driving will be illegal in Florida. Bill boards along the state's highways will light up Thursday, Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 with the message "Don't text and drive, It's the law." Florida will become the 41st state to prohibit texting while driving for all motorists.
For the safety of all and because it´s the law “ON THE ROAD, OFF THE PHONE”
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
As modern technology has advanced over the years, the number of distractions to driving have increased. It is not only a phone call, or a conversation with a passenger, that can take attention from the road- but more contemporary forms of inattention, which stem from texting and driving. Being distracted while driving can lead to fatal results. Attempting to juggle operating a vehicle and typing out a text message is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than driving while intoxicated. Research has even found that the probability of a driver crashing is twice as likely if the individual was texting than if they were driving intoxicated. Many cities and states have implemented ordinances and laws in an attempt to ban electronic device use…
- 192 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
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…
- 1201 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
People may urge that they are responsible enough to operate a cell phone and drive at the same time but if this were the case why is it that many injuries and deaths have been involved inquiring these two? We are completely distracted when using our phone. Their not only being used for talking, but sending texts, playing games, and simply not concentrating on the road. When your not focusing specifically on the road you are at risk. Not only putting yourself in danger but passengers, other vehicle, and bystanders as well.…
- 825 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Distracted driving is any behavior that impairs the ability of a driver to operate a motor vehicle safely. Widespread cell phone ownership, the convenience and connectivity they offer and our virtual addiction to their habitual use, have made cell phones a significant distraction and a major source of automobile accidents and fatalities. Although many states have passed distracted driving laws, they have been difficult to enforce and mostly ignore the risks associated with hands-free operation. Education, mobile apps limiting cell phone use and other technologies may each offer some level of contribution, but the only viable near-term solution may be a technology that completely restricts all cell phone operation when a vehicle is…
- 4058 Words
- 17 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Five seconds are the average time your eyes are off the road while texting, when traveling at 55mph, that's enough to cover the length of an entire football field. (2009,VTTI) That's also enough time to get into a severe car accident. Many people realize the risk they are taking by texting and driving, but they seem to not care, seeing as how their phone is always in the palm of their hands, and they're paying more attention to it than their driving and surroundings. Forty nine percent of drivers under the age of 35 send or read text messages while driving. (2011, Harris Poll) That's an extremely high percentage, and any one of those people could cause the biggest collision you've ever seen in your entire life, in a matter of seconds. When you're texting and driving, you're reaction time is significantly decreased, so those five seconds you used to look at your phone, you could've used to notice that cars were beginning to brake, and you should've too.Congratulations,…
- 1119 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
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.…
- 192 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Since technology has advanced in society the use of a cell phone while driving has become the most discussed problem of distracted driving due to the fact that cell phones are an integral part of life for most people (Helbock, 2015). Since the use of handheld electronic devices while driving became illegal, police are catching more people texting and talking on the phone because it is easier to see someone holding a phone to their ear than texting behind the steering wheel (Williams, 2016). Thus, people are leaning towards texting believing they have less of a chance of being caught for distracted driving. Texting, as well as most other driving distractions, involves three physical and mental actions that all take attention away from the road and are a driving hazard. The first action is visual, texting causes the driver’s eyes to look somewhere else besides the road. The second action is manual, the drivers hand and or hands are taken off the wheel while the vehicle is in motion and is operating controls. The third action is cognitive, the driver’s mind is not focused on driving, but on the handheld device (Helbock, 2015). Drivers engaged in texting are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near crash compared to a non-distracted driver (CAA, Distracted Driving, 2016). Texting in a car results in…
- 1374 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
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.…
- 539 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The most common reason of distracted drivers is due to the use of cellphones. Cellphones have been a major hazard on the road lately. One reason is texting and driving, two things that should not be done at the same time. Many teenagers and adults have been involved in car accidents either because they hit another vehicle, ran off the road, or rammed into an object because of their anticipation of finding out who just texted or is calling them.…
- 493 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
A reason why texting and driving is a serious issue is because it causes a disproportionate amount of accidents every year. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 were injured in distraction-affected crashes (NHTSA). It’s a shocking realization that so many lives are taken every year over something that could have been simply avoided, yet the number of accidents still continue to rise. Part of the reason that so many lives are being taken away is because driving while using a cellphone is a distraction that can inevitably hinder…
- 603 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
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…
- 1011 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Over the past decade, distracted driving has increased dramatically with the technological advances of cell phones and cars. Distracted driving is not just using the phone for texting or calling people anymore, apps and having a passenger to talk too is now considered distracted driving. Other forms of distracted driving is eating, drinking, changing radio stations, and using the GPS. There are three different terms for distracted driving visual, manual, and cognitive. Visual is when the driver takes their eyes off the road. Manual is when the driver takes their hands off the wheel. Lastly, cognitive is when the driver takes their mind off what they are doing. Distracted driving affects millions of people every year. According to National Conference of State Legislature, “Nearly 303 million people in the United States have cell phones. At any given moment during the…
- 994 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Virtually anyone who has a driver’s license has been introduced to the idea that distracted driving causes accidents. However, the consequences of distracted driving are far more than just predictable and often taken lightly. Predictable events can be avoided. Since these are predictable events they are preventable. The choices that drivers make affect more people than they may realize, thus making them responsible for the consequences that result from those choices. On a daily basis more than 15 American deaths and another 1,200 injuries are attributed to drivers that are distracted while driving on the very roads most of us use every day (Harvard Men’s Health Watch, page 7). Distractions can be controlled at a minimum by drivers that make the choice to drive responsibly. There are three types of distractions that have been labeled as the “triple threat” to driving; Visual distraction, manual distraction, and cognitive distraction are the makeup of this triple threat (Harvard Men’s Health Watch, page 6).…
- 1057 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
People today claim they use technology for communicable reasons in the car, but this type of distraction is nonetheless unsafe. Cell phones are the biggest culprits for technological distractions while driving. In fact, the NHTSA gave information stating,”An estimated 34,000 people were injured in 2013 in crashes involving cell phone use or other cell phone-related activities, 8 percent of all people injured in distraction-affected crashes.”(Distracted Driving 2013 4). The effects that cellular device distractions has on driver results in many deaths. According to the NHTSA, in the year of 2013, 14 percent of death causing accidents were due to the use of cell phones as a distraction which, in total, was 411 fatal crashes (Distracted Driving 2013 1). The driver of a motor vehicle also can lose their own life due to not paying attention from technology. As stated by the NHTSA, an approximate 660,000 died of using a type of technology throughout the course of a day (Distracted Driving n.p.).…
- 1622 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Accidents Caused by Distracted Driving Distracted driving is quickly become the most common cause of traffic accidents in the United States. Drivers are doing more and more things behind the wheel that have nothing to do with the task of driving. The latest distraction, Pokémon Go, is just another example of drivers placing their safety and the safety of others at greater risk. From using social media while driving to eating and grooming, drivers are doing everything behind the wheel except what they should be doing — concentrating and focusing on the road ahead of them.…
- 878 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays