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Banning the use of cell phones while driving
The danger of using a cell phone while driving
Banning the use of cell phones while driving
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Recommended: Banning the use of cell phones while driving
According to The National Safety Council (NSC) using cell phones when driving will cause about 1.6 million crashes per year, and from those crashed about 330,000 injuries from distracted drivers (Texting and Driving Accident Statistics, n.d.). Teens and adults have started using their cell phones more and more. Cell phones are a great piece of technology, but the longer we have used them the more we have found that they can cause many negative things. Cell phones don’t just answer calls and respond to texts, but they can cause us to lose social skills, can cause brain cancer, and it causes a lot of distracted drivers.
To begin, cell phones cause us to lose social skills. Because of texting and other methods of communicating on phones we are losing are ability to have deep and meaningful conversations (Jill Suttie, 2015). Conversations are getting smaller and less meaningful
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Accidents involving distracted drivers by their cell phones and other electronics have become a bigger concern (Christopher A. Hart, 2015). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that one in ten of the 3,092 deaths in car accidents were caused by distractions from cell phones (Hart, 2015). The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends that unless of an emergency, the United States should ban the use of personal devices when driving. (Hart, 2015).The U.S. should take more precautions to cell usages on the road. During any point in the day there are about 660,000 people that are trying to use their phone behind the wheel of a car (Texting and Driving Accident Statistics, n.d.). That could be prevented if people would focus on the road. There would be a lot less car accidents if people knew what was going on around them. Because of the risks involved, people should think twice before using their cell phones on the
The several effects of distracted driving are deadly. Andrew Lavallee points out that “texting while driving is unsafe. Not only are a driver’s eyes off the road, one or both hands are off the wheel.” “We think it is incompatible with safe driving” (qtd. in Lavallee). “Study upon study showed that talking on a cellphone was far more dangerous than she’d realized – that a driver on a phone had the same reaction speed as someone legally intoxicated, that those talking on a phone behind the wheel are four times as likely to crash” (qtd. in Hanes). Stephanie Hanes also mentions that, “Unlike a conversation with a passenger, the electronic conversation takes a driver into a virtual space away from the road.” Subsequently, this causes severe problems and deadly
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.
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.
Distracted driving something that is known too well, and can been seen on a day to day basis on the road. But what is the underlining cause, and biggest reason for the negative impact of distracted driving. The conversation addresses the issue of DD (distracted driving), convey that adults and teens need to educate themselves about distracted driving. To inform adults and teens, 3 main points will be addressed in this paper, what is counts as distracted driving, what is the culture of entitlement, and lastly address some data.
Most people think of someone using their cell phone while driving when they hear distracted driving, but it it much more than that. Distracted driving is when someone who is behind the wheel get distracted by either taking their hands off the wheel or take their mind of driving, which can cause them to get into an accident (paragraph 2). Distracted driving is broken down into three main parts, manual distractions which is taking your hands off the steering wheel, visual distractions which is taking your center of attention off the road and cognitive distraction which is when your mind is not focused on driving and just starts drifting away (paragraph 3). Cell phone use is easily the biggest cause of distracted driving compared to eating, talking, and others because using your cell phone requires visual, manual and cognitive attention from the person behind the wheel and in a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, the amount of people who break the law and use a handheld device behind the wheel increases every single year. An estimated amount of more than, six hundred thousand people use their phone while driving. Distracted driving has quickly risen and developed in the past few years and is becoming an enormous problem. In a recent study, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), showed statistics of approximately three thousand, one hundred fifty
Driving is something everyone does. It is something that teenagers look forward to. Something that parents dread coming because it shows that they are growing up. It is a mile marker that everyone reaches at some point in time. But, when it comes down to it, driving is one of the most serious things people do everyday, one mistake and everything could be over. The increase in technology has led to an increase in distracted driving, especially in teens or adolescence.
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
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% ...
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.
According to Ian Mulgrew, a journalist/author from Canada, many accidents are blamed on distracted driving and most of the distractions are caused by cell phone usage (Mulgrew). This shows that accidents are being caused by texting and driving. A majority of people have busy lives that leaves them to get things done while on the road. Texting or using a cell phone while driving is very hazardous to yourself and the people surrounding you. Most people are against this action is because it causes many car accidents every year. Did you know that texting while driving is one of the longest eyes-off-the road time of distracted driving activities? According to DWI, text messaging makes a crash up to 23 times more likely. While other activities like, dialing, talking or listening or reaching for a device is less likely. While driving, adults and teenagers cannot resist the urge to pick up their cell phone and send a text or respond to one. When a
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).
Distracted drivers, tired drivers, or undocumented drivers can lead to major accidents on highways in the United States. The Government has stepped in with a variety of regulations that have started to not only protect the driver, but the industry itself. “Each year about 5,000 fatal, 50,000 injuries, and 100,000 property-damage crashes involve large trucks resulting in social costs exceeding $32 billion.” (Pritchard, 2010) The regulation for safety measures that include electronic logging of hours, better training for new truck drivers, and better vehicle communication and maintenance technology, are improving the safety of drivers in the motor carrier industry. In July 2012, President Barack Obama signed into law the transportation bill Moving Ahead for
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
Over the last few decades, the use of cell phones has become a very common tool. Furthermore, Technology has certainly advanced, and the cell phone is becoming the most preferred mode of communication. The demand for a cell phone is growing every day. In addition, the use of wireless technology is affordable, and anyone can buy a cell phone at a reasonable price. They come in all shapes and sizes. They range from black to bright metallic white. American public use of cell phones is increasing everyday. As the number of people using cell phones increase, the use of cell phones while driving will also increase on our streets and highways. At the same rate, motorists still converse on cell phones and write text messages while driving. Motorist will also engage in other activities apart from driving. For example, drivers will text when driving, and they will dial numbers. Drivers will receive calls and converse with the recipient for long periods. Again, driving demands your full attention, and your concentration needed when talking on the phone. However, it means that the driver has to divert his attention to the conversation, which leads to less concentration on the road. On the contrary, one can therefore connect motorist’s accidents and cell phone usage while driving.
In fact, according to the National Safety Council, cell phone use and driving results in 1.6 million crashes yearly. (“Texting and Driving Accident Statistics”). This is over a million crashes that were caused just from using your cell phone and driving at the same time, therefore making the road more dangerous and putting innocent one’s lives at risk. Likewise, cell phone use and driving has proved to be correlated with deadly and serious car crashes. According to Woody (2015), more than a quarter of vehicle collisions are shown to be due to the driving using his or her cell phone.