Why Is Texting While Driving Bad
Rakeem Ali
Professor Iacinno
Enc1101
31, November, 2010
Texting While Driving May be Bad
Cellular devices today have come with many conveniences and luxuries. They have definitely made communication so much easier. However, when it comes to road safety, cellular phones may be considered a hazard especially text messaging. Today I will explain why I disagree with texting while driving is an unsafe practice. Ever since the creation of text messaging came about, society has grown aware of the dangers of texting while driving. Text messages are brief messages which are often limited to 160 characters and can be sent from one cell phone to another. The ability to be able to send short messages has been seized by millions of people worldwide, …show more content…
Millions and maybe billions of text messages are sent daily. Unfortunately, text messaging is so convenient that some people even compose and send text messages any time and anywhere. It could be while walking, eating, and even while driving. The growing number of accidents caused while texting and driving has been a problem from the beginning. Driving is an activity that requires full concentration and composing, reading, and sending text messages compromises the driver 's concentration. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 16% of all fatal crashes in 2008 were caused by driver distraction.
One of the many dangers of texting is that it can impair one driving ability. Driving while texting can obviously cause a person to take his or her eyes off the road for about five seconds. That is more than enough time for a pedestrian to run in front of a vehicle or a vehicle is in front to abruptly stop.
Another thing that happens when texting while driving is that when a person reads a text message his or her mind automatically drifts away from the road and driving and onto the text message, This, of course, prevents the driver from thinking quickly and his or her reflexes are a bit slower to react, Simply because the text message in the phone has completely taken the mind of the driver.
Despite the importance of any text message, the dangers of text messaging should be more than enough reason why they’re should be a ban on texting while driving. There is only one solution-to cut down on texting while driving which would be putting the phone on silent while operating a vehicle, most of time, one is not expecting anything very important and urgent anyway. This way, the driver will not be tempted to check and read any messages that come in. It is better to wait until reaching ones destination before reading or sending any text messages. Another option is to stop driving it is necessary use your cell phone.
While the popularity of mobile phones has grown enormously in the past two decades, it 's still unclear how greatly cell phone calls and texting contribute to car crashes.
What is clear is that talking on the phone and texting behind the wheel both lead to distraction, and driver inattention is the leading cause of car accidents. If people don’t stop the Texting while driving then things today can get really out of hand for the younger generation to come. In 2008, at any given moment, over 800,000 Americans were texting, making calls, or using a handheld cell phone while driving during the daytime. With distracted driving killing nearly 6,000 Americans in the same year, it 's no mystery that cell phone use is risky for …show more content…
drivers.
More and more states continue to enact cell phone driving laws to combat these risks. However, with research about the effects of texting and hand-held usage still so young, it has yet to be seen just how much these laws will protect drivers.
Studies that one has researched show that
A study by Virginia Tech Driving Institute revealed that those who resort to texting while driving are 23 time more likely to meet with an accident. A comparative study of texting while driving vs. drunk driving statistics published in a leading car magazine in the United States revealed that texting while driving is even more dangerous than drunk driving Studies reveal that a person who is texting while driving at the speed of 35 mph will cover 25 ft before bringing the car to complete halt as compared to a distance of 4 ft which a drunk driver would cover at the same speed.
According to the texting while driving death statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 5,870 people died in car crashes in 2008 alone.
The same statistics revealed that 515,000 people were injured in various car crashes in the United States. Around 28 percent of all crashes in 2008 were caused by drivers in the age group of 18 and 29, who admitted to texting while driving. The popular belief, that the number of teenagers texting while driving is more as compared to adults, got a major blow when the texting while driving statistics 2010 compiled by Pew Research Center revealed that 47 percent of the adults resort to texting as compared to 34 percent of the teenagers. The same stats revealed that 75 percent of the adults resort to phone conversation while driving as compared to 52 percent of the teenagers. From ones heart would say that texting while driving is very dangerous
The compilation of texting while driving statistics gives you an idea as to why texting is considered to be the most serious among the various distractions while driving. Several states have come together which outlaw the practice of texting while driving within their jurisdiction. One of the best examples is the state of Georgia, wherein texting while on the driving wheel can earn you a fine of around $150 and/or result in a point on the driver’s
license.
Constituting and implementing such rules and regulations can help in bringing down the number of texting related accidents by a significant extent. At the same time, the pressure is on the parents to make sure that their wards make wise use of the vehicle and gadget given to them. If we don’t try to stop or lower these dangers now we will end up having a low population due to all these deaths accruing because of texting while driving.
WORKS CITED
Naik, Abhijit. "Texting While Driving: What the Statistics Say." Texting While Driving Statistics. 15 July 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. <http://www.textingwhiledrivingstatistics.com/2010/01/texting-while-driving-what-statistics.html>.
Driving. "Cell Phone Driving Statistics | Get Texting While Driving Statistics & Facts from Nationwide | Nationwide.com." Nationwide Insurance - Auto Insurance Quotes and Car Insurance Rates. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. <http://www.nationwide.com/newsroom/dwd-facts-figures.jsp>.
Professor Iacinno
Enc1101
31, November, 2010
Texting While Driving May be Bad
Cellular devices today have come with many conveniences and luxuries. They have definitely made communication so much easier. However, when it comes to road safety, cellular phones may be considered a hazard especially text messaging. Today I will explain why I disagree with texting while driving is an unsafe practice. Ever since the creation of text messaging came about, society has grown aware of the dangers of texting while driving. Text messages are brief messages which are often limited to 160 characters and can be sent from one cell phone to another. The ability to be able to send short messages has been seized by millions of people worldwide, …show more content…
Millions and maybe billions of text messages are sent daily. Unfortunately, text messaging is so convenient that some people even compose and send text messages any time and anywhere. It could be while walking, eating, and even while driving. The growing number of accidents caused while texting and driving has been a problem from the beginning. Driving is an activity that requires full concentration and composing, reading, and sending text messages compromises the driver 's concentration. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 16% of all fatal crashes in 2008 were caused by driver distraction.
One of the many dangers of texting is that it can impair one driving ability. Driving while texting can obviously cause a person to take his or her eyes off the road for about five seconds. That is more than enough time for a pedestrian to run in front of a vehicle or a vehicle is in front to abruptly stop.
Another thing that happens when texting while driving is that when a person reads a text message his or her mind automatically drifts away from the road and driving and onto the text message, This, of course, prevents the driver from thinking quickly and his or her reflexes are a bit slower to react, Simply because the text message in the phone has completely taken the mind of the driver.
Despite the importance of any text message, the dangers of text messaging should be more than enough reason why they’re should be a ban on texting while driving. There is only one solution-to cut down on texting while driving which would be putting the phone on silent while operating a vehicle, most of time, one is not expecting anything very important and urgent anyway. This way, the driver will not be tempted to check and read any messages that come in. It is better to wait until reaching ones destination before reading or sending any text messages. Another option is to stop driving it is necessary use your cell phone.
While the popularity of mobile phones has grown enormously in the past two decades, it 's still unclear how greatly cell phone calls and texting contribute to car crashes.
What is clear is that talking on the phone and texting behind the wheel both lead to distraction, and driver inattention is the leading cause of car accidents. If people don’t stop the Texting while driving then things today can get really out of hand for the younger generation to come. In 2008, at any given moment, over 800,000 Americans were texting, making calls, or using a handheld cell phone while driving during the daytime. With distracted driving killing nearly 6,000 Americans in the same year, it 's no mystery that cell phone use is risky for …show more content…
drivers.
More and more states continue to enact cell phone driving laws to combat these risks. However, with research about the effects of texting and hand-held usage still so young, it has yet to be seen just how much these laws will protect drivers.
Studies that one has researched show that
A study by Virginia Tech Driving Institute revealed that those who resort to texting while driving are 23 time more likely to meet with an accident. A comparative study of texting while driving vs. drunk driving statistics published in a leading car magazine in the United States revealed that texting while driving is even more dangerous than drunk driving Studies reveal that a person who is texting while driving at the speed of 35 mph will cover 25 ft before bringing the car to complete halt as compared to a distance of 4 ft which a drunk driver would cover at the same speed.
According to the texting while driving death statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 5,870 people died in car crashes in 2008 alone.
The same statistics revealed that 515,000 people were injured in various car crashes in the United States. Around 28 percent of all crashes in 2008 were caused by drivers in the age group of 18 and 29, who admitted to texting while driving. The popular belief, that the number of teenagers texting while driving is more as compared to adults, got a major blow when the texting while driving statistics 2010 compiled by Pew Research Center revealed that 47 percent of the adults resort to texting as compared to 34 percent of the teenagers. The same stats revealed that 75 percent of the adults resort to phone conversation while driving as compared to 52 percent of the teenagers. From ones heart would say that texting while driving is very dangerous
The compilation of texting while driving statistics gives you an idea as to why texting is considered to be the most serious among the various distractions while driving. Several states have come together which outlaw the practice of texting while driving within their jurisdiction. One of the best examples is the state of Georgia, wherein texting while on the driving wheel can earn you a fine of around $150 and/or result in a point on the driver’s
license.
Constituting and implementing such rules and regulations can help in bringing down the number of texting related accidents by a significant extent. At the same time, the pressure is on the parents to make sure that their wards make wise use of the vehicle and gadget given to them. If we don’t try to stop or lower these dangers now we will end up having a low population due to all these deaths accruing because of texting while driving.
WORKS CITED
Naik, Abhijit. "Texting While Driving: What the Statistics Say." Texting While Driving Statistics. 15 July 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. <http://www.textingwhiledrivingstatistics.com/2010/01/texting-while-driving-what-statistics.html>.
Driving. "Cell Phone Driving Statistics | Get Texting While Driving Statistics & Facts from Nationwide | Nationwide.com." Nationwide Insurance - Auto Insurance Quotes and Car Insurance Rates. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. <http://www.nationwide.com/newsroom/dwd-facts-figures.jsp>.