With new technology advancements happening everyday with cell phones, computers, tablets, etc. people, especially teenagers, have become very dependant to using technology in their everyday lives. Just think, what would happen if your iPhone, iPad, computer, or laptop crashed today? What if someone took away your phone for a few days or perhaps lost it? If thinking about these incidences makes people stressed, they are not alone. Today, most people are into technology such that losing a phone would change their life negatively. Although cell phones are cool and allow the user to contact their friends or family with the touch of a button, phones also allow people to be able to play games in times of boredom. Besides that, for many people, technology …show more content…
While people are on their phones and driving, there is a higher risk of crashing a vehicle and getting into a serious accident. In the article on Distracted Driving in the United States and Europe, the author said, “Each morning more than 9 people are killed and 1,060 are injured in crashes that involve a distracted driver” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Many people are entering death traps when the decision is made to be on their phone while behind the wheel. This is talking about how many people have died or been injured while in a motorized crash involving the use of a cell phone. Crashes that are caused by distracted driving happens daily, and people aged 15 to 19 more often cause these crashes. In a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, research shows, “The percentage of all drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at times of crashes” (U.S. Department of Transportation). Younger kids have more of a chance to get in car accidents. Younger kids and adults aged 15 to 19 seem to be more attached to their phones, causing their percentage of crashes to raise and become higher than other ages. While younger kids are on their phone and driving, crashes can occur and deaths or injuries can happen. Technology is a very distracting thing when it comes to driving, people just cannot seem to stay off their phones in their driving
Over the past two decades the use of cell phones has grown significantly and statistic from the past two years have proven that driving while on the phone or texting is becoming one of the leading causes of traffic accidents today. In 2011, a survey of more than 2800 American adults revealed that even thought they know that using a cell phone or texting while driving is distracting, they do it anyway, and teens surveyed admit that texting while driving is their number one distraction. "Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% ...
There are approximately 5,400 deaths per year that are linked to distracted driving, and thousands more were injured. (U.S. Department of Labor). Those fatalities are our neighbors, close friends, and even family. How can we prevent this from being so prominent? How can we make the roads a safe place to be again? These questions have many different answers, but many prove to be un-effective. I believe that the best and only way to resolve this issue is to implement tougher laws on cell-phone use in vehicles, and educate our youth to the best of our abilities on the dangers of distracted driving.
Distracted driving is such an increasing problem in the U.S. that there are laws against driving distracted. In New Jersey there is a handheld ban for all drivers and that is a primary law. There is a ban on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for novice drivers. There is also a ban on texting for all drivers. This problem Is growing, drivers who are texting are 23.2 times more likely to get into a crash than people who aren’t (Cell Phones and Texting). Every driver takes their eyes off the road for approximately 4.6 seconds when texting. Driving is a new skill for teens, so doing multiple things simultaneously takes more effort for them than for more experienced drivers. Texting and driving can ruin families because when texting and driving there is a higher chance of getting in a crash. There are only 2 percent of people who can actually multitask successfully. Even though teens are more likely to try multitasking they are still part of the 98 percent who can’t do it safely. For example, Nebraska teen Emily Reynolds says...
According to Stephanie Hanes in the essay “Texting While Driving Is as Dangerous as Drunk Driving,” a driver on a phone and those talking on a phone are four times likely to crash. This statistic shows how dangerous using the phone or even texting is while driving. As technology has increased, so has the use of cellphone. Distracted driving has caused an increase in car fatalities and disasters. However, distracted driving can be prevented if drivers take precautions, but no matter what we do, trouble will always be spelling on the road.
The top two age groups that are involved in car accidents due to distracted driving are is aged twenty and under with 16% and ages 20-29 with 13% (paragraph 4). Some people may ask how many people actually use their phones while behind the wheel between all drivers, and at any time of the day across America, approximately over six hundred thousand drivers use their cell phone while driving, and that number has been growing and growing since 2010. Teens are more involved in distracted driving accidents than older people aged thirty and up. A study about teens and adults involved in distracted driving accidents displayed that teen drivers are FOUR times more likely to get into a fatal car accident due to distracted driving than an adult (paragraph 11). But everyone is the same when it comes to distracted driving. Many young drivers know the dangers of texting and driving, but just can’t stop it because they are addicted to their cell phones. “Nor is it possible to overestimate how addicted Americans are to their cellphones. In a Transportation Department survey released this week, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said talking on a handheld phone was "very or somewhat unsafe." Yet 77% reported answering calls while driving, and 41% said they made calls.” Some helpful tips to help you stop texting and
Distracted driving is something myself, as a driver, encounters everyday. From resisting to look at my phone, to seeing other people on the road using their phone and putting my life in danger. When I see people swerving because they’re distracted, it puts an image into my mind that I’ve heard too many stories about. People are dying because of a text, or a phone call, not to mention the plethora of other distractions on the road. I am declaring my independence from distracted driving because I care about my community, it could put me in harms way, and a life is way more important than a simple message.
Over the years, there has been much controversy as to how the national problem of distracted driving can be resolved. Distracted driving is quickly emerging as a major cause of death. Contrary to belief, by 2030, road traffic injuries are projected to be the fifth leading cause of death worldwide surpassing HIV, aids, cancer, violence, and diabetes (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2014). However, in Canada distracted driving laws are fragmented by provincial and territorial policies and should be implemented into the Criminal Code of Canada, due to the fact that major efforts to enforce and increase penalties have not changed the troubling distracted driving rates.
I rear ended a car due to the action of distracted driving. Distractions while driving can include anything from the use of social media on a cellular phone, messing with a navigation system, brushing one's hair, speaking to the passengers, or eating a big mac. In my situation, I was toying with the music in my car. I was dissatisfied with the current song so I decided to switch it up. I was at a stoplight so at the time I thought it would be okay for me to change the song. But within the timespan of a blink of an eye, my foot went off the brake and I rear-ended the car in front of me. I was following the car way too closely so by the time I realized my foot had wavered I already made a mark on the car ahead of me. I wanted to fist bump to
Whether it is a text massage from love one or a bite of a sandwich, it is not so important than a human life. Distracted driving is an epidemic, so more tough laws should be implemented. The law for distracted driving should be tough just like a driving under influence. Distracting driving is a killer on the road, it should be banned because, it is the number one killer of the U.S. teenager in the road, not only the teenager in the road, but also cause a collision which is often fatal, and some incident were driver or one who involve on an accident became disable. Distraction is an involvement of driver where his or hers eye or mind are engage and performing on other things rather than driving, such as while talking on
This paper examines the dangers that arise when cell phones are used at the same time as operating a vehicle. The paper will explore the following question of why this is a problem and why the research is important. The variables investigated are the use of cell phones while driving, whether speaking or texting, and the accidents and fatalities caused from the distraction. Data of the accidents and fatalities caused by drivers distracted by their cells phones is stated to research and further explores the age group and gender of the people involved into the accidents to uncover patterns. Possible outcomes of the implementation of laws prohibiting cell phone use while driving are discussed as well as the sampling measures used to survey and research the variables.
Distracted driving: the practice of driving a motor vehicle while engaged in another activity. Anything besides focusing on the road can be considered distracted driving. Most people would think that the only real distraction while driving is the use of a cell phone, however, that is entirely untrue. There are people that give the term, distracted driving, a whole new meaning. People do everything from fixing their makeup to shaving while driving in their cars. Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car crashes in the United States.
When you think about distracted driving, you may think about teenagers texting or talking while they are driving; however, distracted driving includes much more than those two behaviors.
Not only does it put the driver of the car in danger, but it also puts the passengers and the surrounding cars at risk. Using a cell phone while driving has been proven to be just as dangerous as driving under the influence. At any given moment during the day, around 800,000 people are driving cars while using a hand-held device, which unfortunately puts everyone else at risk of a car crash. In the recent year, 21% of fatal car crashes involved the use of a cellular device (Prof. David J. Hanson, 1997-2015). Unfortunately, humans, especially teenagers, cannot put down their cell phones while they drive due to the many notifications they receive. They are addicted. This points back to how the cell phones are affecting the mental health of humans. In 2007, Bailey Goodman, a seventeen-year-old, was killed along with four of her friends in a car accident. Goodman
Texting while driving is a widespread epidemic in the United States that has unfavorable effects on our society.“Driving while texting is the standard wording used for traffic violations” (Bernstein). It causes many people to be distracted which can lead to accidents. “Eighty-nine percent of people own a cell phone” (Gardner). That is a plethora of people that are at risk of texting while driving. Also, texting has increased by ten times in three years(Bernstein). “The risk of a crash for those who are texting is twenty-three point two times greater than those who are not” (Gardner).Driving drunk only makes a person seven times more likely to be in a crash (Bernstein). This means texting while driving is three times more dangerous than driving intoxicated. One in five drivers admits to texting while driving(Gardner). This shows that that texting while driving is a widespread epidemic. When a survey asked teenagers whether they text and drive,“seventy five percent of teens admitted to texting while driving” (7).Distracted driving causes seventy-eight percent of car crashes(Bernstein). “No distraction causes as high of a risk of an accident as texting while driving” (Gardner). Also with these statistics, it is not hard to understand why accidents in teenagers that are driving have risen. The Bluetooth capability in cars gives a driver a hands-free way to talk on the phone, but is still not completely safe (8). Also, only 1 out of 3 US cars sold in 2009 had this feature. New systems are being developed that will use Bluetooth as well a global positioning technology to allow parents to monitor cell phone use and texting while driving (10).
Since their introduction in the early 1980’s, cell phones have experienced dramatic growth and today there are over 128 subscriptions (Cohen and Grahm 5). This piece of technology may deem useful and efficient, but most mobile phone holders claim that they use it while driving. While discussing a study pertaining to crashes related to mobile phone distraction, the World Health Organization concluded that phone distraction is a “cognitive distraction,” which seems have the most impact on driving behavior (Teater, Coben, and Motao 2436-2437). Relating fatality to text message rates the volume of distracted driving fatalities in 2005, in increased dramatically (Alosco et al. 468). Dating back to 2006, when texting wasn’t as popular as it is today, Pew ResearchCenter’s Internet & American Life Project states that over a quarter of adult mobile phone owners felt that their cell phone was responsible for limiting their driving ability (Madden and Lenhart 2). Illustrated by Pew Research Center’s survey, 28% of adults confessed that they didn’t meet the safe driving requirements while using their mobile phone. History shows that this percentage is more than enough to recognize that cell phones are harmful. As years pass by