Preview

Texting While Driving Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
704 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Texting While Driving Essay Example
My topic on my argument paper is on distractions while driving. I know that there are a lot of different distractions while we drive. But the one thing that bothers me is the law that there is on texting while driving. I know that it’s not good to text while you drive because how can you be paying attention to the road if you’re looking down. And I also know that all teens like to do now is text rather than talk on the phone. I personally would rather talk on the phone because it seems a little more complicated to text when you can just say what you got to say and get it over with.
They say that the average teen now sends or receives an average of 2,899 text messages per month. And most of those texts are sent from behind the wheel. Teens are not the only ones putting people at risk. A recent study showed that truck drivers who were texting were 23 times more at risk of a crash or near crash event rather than non distracted driving. There is considerably more risk associated with dialing while driving. Another study showed that texting took a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds which is enough time to travel the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour. The one thing that has me questioning this issue is what about all the other distractions that there are while we drive. Texting is not the only problem when we drive. Why is it that all of a sudden texting is the big issue of distraction when there are plenty of other reasons for being distracted, like fast food restaurants? Do people actually believe that we go to Burger King or McDonalds and order food to go home and eat? No we order the food so we can eat while we are driving. Is this not a distraction that can cause an accident or is it ok to drive with one hand on the wheel while we have a burger in the other? What about taking your eyes off the road to change the radio station? There are a lot of things that we do in the car that can be very distracting. Another

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful 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
  • Better Essays

    I will admit that I have fallen into the temptation of texting while driving, and I am not proud of making such a dangerous choice. Teens, in general, are very proficient when it comes to texting and they tend to believe that it has no impact on their driving skills. Many people tend to focus the texting while driving issue on teens; however, teens aren’t the only ones texting behind the wheel. One can easily do their own study by just observing other drivers…

    • 1783 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you check it and text while you’re driving, or do you wait until you are done driving? According to Erin Shumaker, on average, about 9 Americans are killed every day from motor vehicle accidents that involve being distracted driving by using a cell phone, texting, or eating. So that means over 3,000 deaths per year are because of driver’s being distracted by their phones. Texting while driving is not only dangerous, but has become more mind controlling to younger people in today’s society more than ever. Shumaker adds in his article that the age group most likely to send a text or email while driving is the ages between twenty one and twenty four and the risk of crashing are four times more if using a cell phone. Certainly a discomforting statistic for most that would seemingly be made aware to younger age drivers, but only becomes more of a growing problem every year.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Texting and driving is a bad and dangerous thing for a teenager to do. Texting while driving is one of the ways that teens are injured or worst case scenario, killed. Every year 6,000 people die because of distracted driving and almost half a million suffer severe injuries. If the teenagers that died texting while driving were still alive; I'm sure they would've thought twice about texting behind the wheel. If you text or talk while driving, then think to yourself. Is any text message really worth dying over?…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Distracted driving is dangerous because it can kill any driver or passenger; however, steps can be taken to reduce the causes of distracted driving and the number of fatalities that result from it. There are many different distractions behind the wheel, the one most people do and it is very dangerous is texting and driving. More and more Studies are found everyday this is not safe, people should care if they’re putting their lives at risk. “In Study 1, we found that males reported more frequent texting while driving and speeding than females and, in terms of age, sixteen year olds reported frequent texting while driving than older participants. In Study 2, which was conducted two years later, males again reported more…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Texting and Driving

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Five years ago on a bright June day, then-20- year-old Amanda Kloehr went about her usual cell phone routine: "Updating my Facebook status, reading other people's updates, and texting," she says. But she wasn't at home or even in class—she was behind the wheel of her car, cruising down U.S. Route 13 at a highway speed. Amanda couldn't have known that moments later her distracted driving would cause her to slam into the tractor-trailer in front of her with enough force to push the entire vehicle forward six feet. "I shouldn't have lived," she says now, still shaken. "I could have been decapitated."Instead, Amanda lost her right eye. It took 36 plates and 48 screws to rebuild her face. And more than 20 surgeries later, the road to recovery still stretches out before her. "I'm in pain everywhere all the time," she says, "but I know I'm lucky to be alive." This story comes from www.teenvogue.com. Is it really worth? Texting while driving is quickly becoming one of the countries most top killers . Many teens don't realize that texting and driving is dangerous, but it is. How big is this problem? “In 2011, 23% of the car accidents were caused from texting and driving. That is 1.3 million crashes.” according to www.textinganddrvingsaftey.com. Many believe that its becoming more of a habit for adults than for teens. Adults maybe the cause of why some teens do it. Kids watch their parents and the they think its safe cause if their parents can do it then it must be. They should be role models. The thing is they all know its wrong but it doesn't seem to stop them.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The National Safety Council states that: “cell phone use while driving causes 1.6 million crashes each year.” Texting while driving is mostly operated by teenagers, but as society develops a lot of adults are starting to contribute to it as well. Texting while driving is very distracting to the driver. Texting while driving has also become a recent and huge problem in our communities. About 78 percent of people own cell phones today and just imagine how many of those people own and operate a vehicle. A lot of people like to use social media while driving such as snapchat, facebook, twitter or instagram and that is just as equally as bad while driving. Some other people like to play games while driving. Cell phone companies have evolved phones…

    • 1256 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Composing a typical text message is roughly akin to closing one 's eyes for nearly five seconds, during which time a car going 55 mph covers more than the length of a football field” (Savitz 2012). Due to the technological advances of the smartphone, and the fact that 50% of all teenagers admit to texting while driving, deaths of teenagers from texting while driving has skyrocketed. The latest data shows that over 3,000 teenage drivers died and over 300,000 were injured last year, as a result of teenage texting while driving. “The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that it is to blame for 11 teen deaths each day” (Savitz 2012). These deaths and injuries now make teenage texting while driving the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States. With laws making no difference on whether drivers text, the number of deaths attributed to teenage texting while driving will only rise in the coming…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Driver distraction is a national problem. Talking on a cell phone or texting causes drivers to lose their focus, often with deadly consequences. Driving is not a time to multitask, especially if the driver is a teenager. Nearly 28 percent of all vehicle crashes can be tied to talking on a cell phone or texting, according to the National Safety Council. Legislators and others are speaking out and taking action to curb distracted driving.…

    • 1354 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Now the leading cause of death among teens in the U.S., texting while driving takes more than 3,000 teenage lives each year. U.S. highways are introduced to new and inexperienced teenage drivers every year who do not recognize the difficulty involved in trying to text and drive. Our highways are dangerous enough because of the number of other drivers, poor weather and road conditions, therefore adding any other distractions more than triple the dangers.…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Research Paper

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Researchers have shown that texting while driving makes an accident 23-times more likely to happen. Who is texting while driving and what needs to be done to prevent it? Texting while driving is unsafe and most teens are not admitting that they are texting behind the wheel. Only 34 percent of teenagers have admitted to texting while driving and 54 percent of teenagers have admitted to texting while driving. Teens who text while driving increases the risks of accidents by distracting themselves behind the wheel. The consequences of laws are not working on drivers who use their phones while driving, and raising awareness will stop teens from texting while driving.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • 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
  • Powerful Essays

    The number one source of driver inattention is use of a cell phone. Drivers that text or talk on cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety). My first and only wreck so far, since I receiving my license a year ago, was caused because of texting while driving. Luckily I wasn’t going very fast, so no one was hurt and there was very little damage; however, it definitely scared me, and I now realize how dangerous it really is. Texting while driving should be against the law because it can be very hazardous and lead to regretful…

    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Texting and Driving

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When drivers are busy reading, drafting, or sending a text message they are not fully paying attention to their surroundings. "Texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road "(Thomas, 2009). Anything, at any time could happen and it could easily happen in the few seconds drivers eyes are on their phone instead of the road. Looking down from the road for a second seems harmless but not when driving involves full attention. "46 percent of teens say they text message while driving" (Thomas, 2009). That is 46 or 51 percent of the teen drivers on the road that are not directing their attention to the road, causing dangers to not just themselves and others, but also leaving them briefly out of control of their vehicle.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Drving While Texting

    • 2224 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Texting while driving puts many driver’s lives in danger daily. Multiple people feel that staying connected to the outside world is more important than focusing on the road ahead, although it isn’t. Furthermore, it can harm others on the road who are doing nothing other than trying to make it to their destination safely. If people would open their eyes to the dangers of texting while driving, less car accidents would take place every year and the roads would be much…

    • 2224 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays