Distracted Driving Research Paper

According to distraction.gov, during 2013, 3,154 people were killed and 424,000 were injured in distracted driving accidents. For most people, this would scream that familiar “stop the texts, stop the wrecks” slogan. Sadly, not all distracted driving can be pinned on just texting or cellular device use. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines distracted driving as any time “when drivers divert their attention away from driving tasks to focus on another activity.” That means eating, drinking, fixing your makeup, combing your hair, reading your map, or simply changing the radio station can be counted towards distracted driving. Those things and many others, just like texting can cause wrecks.
Everyone seems to shake

those little things off.

We seem to think that our friends will be a lot more hurt if we don’t text them back than we will be if we get in a wreck. We don’t realize how changing the station away from the song that’s killing our ears could actually kill us. I’m a victim of faulty thinking too. Although I may try to stay away from texting and will refuse to take calls while driving, there are many other little things that could cause huge issues for my future. For example, I am absolutely terrible when it comes to eating on the road. Each day I have to rush from work to school, knowing that I’ve already missed lunch hour and may never get the chance to eat if I don’t eat now. But is that one extra bite of food worth it? Just before the Christmas break this year we had gotten a huge snow storm and the roads were covered with ice, slush, and very slippery snow. I had driven

into work just fine. Going just under the speed limit made it so that I never lost traction. On the way back to school, however, I gave into my stomach and decided that it would be okay if I ate my sandwich while driving. As I dug in my bag, I made the choice to divert my focus from the road to the passenger seat beside me. Unintentionally pushing down on the gas as I looked over, my head came up just as I hit a very slick patch of ice. Luckily, my car is very tough, and because of traction control and all-wheel drive, I only slipped into the next lane before being able to correct myself and slow down. That was an experience that had the potential to take my life simply because I cared more about my stomach than the road.
Because of the countless number of distractions that are presented before us, it is hard to say that no one will ever get distracted on the road. But there may be ways to shrink the distractors present. According to the Center for Disease Control, teenagers are the most likely to get in wrecks caused by distractions. Advancements in technology and cell phones make it so that it’s easier for a young driver to get distracted. Since texting and driving is the most dangerous distraction present today, it is the one that is pushed to get fixed the most. Still, if we don’t fully understand the extent of distracted driving, then the problem will never get fully solved. My suggestion to any teenager and adult on the road today is this: eliminate the distractions. Don’t give yourself the opportunity to be distracted and if the opportunity presents itself, don’t take it. Find a way to hook your music up to the radio so you don’t have to change the station. Put your phone in the back seat while you’re driving. Wait until you have the opportunity to stop to eat or drink. I can promise you that whatever you need to do can wait until you stop your car. People will be much happier to have you than they would be angry because you didn’t text them back. Your life is so much more important than any distraction.