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An essay on distracted driving
An essay on distracted driving
The Dangers Of Distracted Driving Essay
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Background Distracted driving is an increasing and significant threat in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), visual, manual, and cognitive diversions are the three principal types of distraction: visual diversion is taking the eyes off the road; manual distraction is taking the hands off the wheel, and cognitive diversion is taking the mind off of driving. Many diversions activities contribute to divert drivers such as eating, using a cell phone and texting while driving which is the most dangerous practice because it combines the three types of distraction. One of the main factors of injuries in the United States is motor vehicle crashes, and inattentive driving contributes greatly to the occurrence of these accidents (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). …show more content…
According to Sherin et al. (2014), a 12 month program combined a public awareness campaign such as “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” and law enforcement procedures in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York and resulted in a decrease of cell phone use among drivers (p. 685). The Graduate Driver Licensing Program is another successful preventive measure implemented in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The goal of the program is to promote safe driving practices and the parents serve as a role-model for new, inexperienced drivers (Sherin et al., 2014, p. 685). A significant outcome on “attention maintenance” was perceived and the study realized by Durbin et al. (2014) noticed a crash reduction of 10-30% and a decrease in teens’ mortality due to collision in the states (p. 69). Since 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation combat the epidemic through distracted driving summits, texting prohibition and cell phone use for commercial drivers, tough laws suggestion for states, and several awareness campaigns about the issue (Distraction.gov,
The term “distracted driving” may be hard to define, but, simply, it is the act of driving while being engaged in any activity. Stephanie Hanes describes in her article, how texting is a deadly epidemic. The distractions occurring while we drive on the road endangers the lives of drivers and passengers around us. Andrew Lavallee explains in his article “Companies build Services to End Texting and Driving,” how texting is wildly popular these days. David Andreatta points out some activities which drivers are engaged in while on road, in his article “Texting and Driving Can Spell Disaster.”
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...
We understand the dangers of driving under the influence, texting while driving and distracted driving; however, drowsy driving continues to be a problem on our roads. Needs assessment Between 1998 and 2008, 16.5% of fatal car accidents in the US involved a drowsy driver, and 13% of non-fatal accidents where at least one person was admitted to the hospital involved a drowsy driver (Tefft, 2012).... ... middle of paper ... ... Sleepiness, Driving, and Motor Vehicle Crashes.
These sort of programs have shown immense help in the number of fatalities on the road today. Along with these kinds of programs there have been several laws put in place that ban cell phone use while driving. In Syracuse, N.Y. there have been strict laws against handheld cellphone use and texting and driving, and they have been extremely effective (Copeland, 1). Law enforcement saw over 70% of texting driving put to a halt. Transportation secretary Ray LaHood said, “Over half a million people are said to be injured, and thousands more are killed in distracted driving accidents” (Copeland, 1).Another very effective campaign that will probably soon be known world-wide is “Phone in one hand, Ticket in the other”(Copeland, 1). Most people in todays world would be familiar with the “click it or ticket” phrase that has allowed people to be reminded to put on your seat belt. Just as this campaign reminds people to wear a seat belt the “Phone in one hand, Ticket in the other” is designed to remind drivers that it is far too dangerous to be interacting with your phone while driving (Copeland,
David Hosansky states that the use of cell phones and texting should not be allowed while driving. The increased uses of cell phones and texting while driving has become the center of safety conversations. In fact, there are more than 5,000 deaths related to the use of cell phones and texting while driving over the last decade. Even if laws were put in place it is believed that motorists would still find it hard to put down their phones down. Hosansky also gave an example on the hazards of texting while driving, especially among young drivers. There are very few states that have implemented laws restricting the use of cell phones or texting while driving. David Hosansky is a freelance writer in the Denver area. This article seems to have been written for the general public and thought to be informative. I found this especially helpful and informative in finding this is not just a local problem.
Distracted driving includes not only texting and calling, but also eating, navigation, and conversing with passengers. (Idaho Transportation Department). This is a serious problem, and danger to not only ourselves, but those around us. On any given day between when the
Young, Kristie L., John D. Lee, and Michael A. Regan. Driver Distraction: Theory, Effects, and Mitigation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2009. EBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
For some getting their drivers license is a dream come true, but it could easily turn into a nightmare. For many, it`s a dream that is never woken up from. The use of technology has grown steadily over the years, distracting us from things that are important, such as where we`re going. Texting while driving is one of the biggest problems in the United States. Not only are drivers putting themselves in danger, but they’re putting passengers and other drivers on the road in dangerous situations. This is exactly why laws should be created and enforced for distracted driving.
Each day in the United States, over 8 people are killed and 1,161 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (Distracted Driving). There are a few different
One of the major cell phone companies AT&T, has had enormous success in launching its “It Can Wait” campaign.AT&T is using its campaign to show ttenagers the damaging effects of texting and driving and what it can do to everyone around. Texting and driving should be tied into the school systems learning guidelines as most teenagers think that texting and driving is not as big of a deal as it seems to be. In a study done by() results showed that thirteen percent of drivers age eighteen to twenty involved in car accidents admitted to being on their phones at the time of the crash. And seventy seven percent of teenagers say they are somewhat confident in that they can text and drive safely. This should be a a major eye opener to all members of society. The new generation has very little real world experience in how texting and driving can really affect them and their
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).
According to the U.S Department of Transportation, ten percent of all drivers from ages fifteen to nineteen that were involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. Therefore, it can be seen that distracted driving is a major issue among many drivers in this generation. Unfortunately, many times distracted driving can end up in horrid tragedy almost as fast as the time it takes for someone to look down at their phone and get distracted. Many organizations have created advertisements, and public service announcements that help shine the light on these serious issues, and help educate people. Videos, and photos depicting the dangers and consequences of distracted driving can be seen throughout many platforms.
SMACK! That is the sound of me running into the person walking in front of me. Someone might ask, “Why did you run into this person?” In this situation I was focused more on reading the text message that had just appeared on the screen on my cell phone than paying attention to where I was going. This is one situation of many where I find my self distracted by my cell phone.
In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers (Facts and Statistics). Many people are over-confident in their abilities to text and drive but the risk is still the same for people who have died in car accidents. Also, many distracted drivers don’t realize how much distance they cover while looking down at their mobile device for a few seconds. “Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded” (Facts and Statistics).
The main distraction of driving is cell phones. Most adults and teens will engage in texting and driving. Due to the major issue of texting and driving many campaigns have been launched, one being launched by AT&T “when it comes to texting and driving, it can wait.” This campaign has many drivers take the pledge to no longer use their phone when driving, there is an available app that will send out automatic messages to anybody that sends a while the individual is driving. When someone is driving at the rate of 55 miles per hour for only 4.6 seconds, it will equal the length of a football field, 100 yards. So, even stopping full vision from the road for a few seconds will still risk serious danger. Another cause of distracted driving is being exhausted or tired, doing so will cause a much slower reaction time. The slower reaction time causes many of the accidents that happen when people are tired. Another possibility is falling asleep behind the wheel even for a few seconds you could drift, or swerv into another lane and hit another car causing a major or fatal car accident. When taking driving classes, the students within the class will hear the saying “stay alert, stay alive.” The final major distraction of driving is eating and drinking. One of the problems of eating and drinking while driving is that it causes both a visual and manual distraction. When removing your eyes from the road many dangers will be