When a cell phone rings in a movie theater or at a Library, we are annoyed, but at least our lives are not at risk of death. When we are driving, however, selfish cell phone users are more than annoying: They are putting our lives at risk. We have all seen distracted drivers texting and driving or talking on the phone they resemble drunk drivers, swerving in the lanes, or running red lights. States have passed bills to hopefully reduce the amount of texting drivers. Laws are needed because people who drive while using their cell phones are never really paying attention to what they are doing while driving which can end up getting someone injured or even worse dead. It is impossible to decline the fact that cell phones have caused too many traffic related deaths and injuries. Experts, public opinion all say driving while on the phone is extremely dangerous. One out …show more content…
But this is not true. Every State has different laws when it comes to traffic safety, because of this some distracted drivers can even get off with little to no penalties or fines even if they cause a fatal accident. For example, A teen at Massachusetts was convicted of homicide as a result of texting while driving and was only given one year in prison (CNN Wire). In California the most amount of money you can be charged for texting while driving is just $20, that is the lowest amount of money in the entire country, but in Alaska if caught you will be fined $10,000 and you must serve one year in prison (Raja Tasneem, Benjy Hansen-Bundy). When we see certain types of driving the is reckless we wisely make special laws and make those types of driving illegal. Running red lights, not stopping for a school bus, and drunk driving these are all obvious examples we should make texting and driving illegal. Laws that are passed in counties and towns have made a difference but not enough to stop texting and driving
One day Chandler Gerber 23, of Bluffton collided with an Amish buggy back in April of 2012. A three year old boy and a five year old girl were killed. A 17 year old boy who was in critical condition died several days later. Chandler was sending a text that said “ I love you” to his wife when he caused the accident. Drivers who were texting were 23.2 times more likely to crash to those who weren’t texting (Cell Phones and Texting). The increasing amount of crashes caused from texting and driving and growing and becoming more of a problem. Distracted driving is an increasing problem in the United States resulting in many accidents, but a solution to the problem would be banning cellphones while driving.
As Americans have seen an increase in the amount of texting and driving, there have been several of the 50 states that have put laws in place to help try and put a reduction on the amount of fatalities. The devastating part about this kind of distraction is that nearly every person that owns a cell phone has picked it up at some point while they are driving to make a phone call or send a quick text. They have seen the commercials and they know the hurt that it has caused many families losing someone they love, but we still do it anyways. It’s so easy to tell yourself “It’s just one quick text, I will be fine.” At some point we need to realize this is not ok.
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.
Imagine it’s a beautiful summer day. Sun shining. Windows are down in your car allowing the fresh air to blow your hair in the wind. As you turn down a side street, you see a car coming towards you. You slow down expecting the other driver to slow down too; but that’s not the case. Frightened, you slam on your brakes, honking the horn to get their attention. Finally, the other driver slams on her brakes. Her cell-phone flies out of her window as the car came to a screeching stop. Missed hitting you by inches!!! Disturbed, you get out of your car, pick up the cell-phone, and hand the cell-phone back to her. “Are you Ok”, you ask? She replies, “Yes. I’m fine. I was on my cell-phone and didn’t see you. I’m glad you honked your horn.” Shaken, at her response you get back in your car drive away, grateful that it didn’t turn out how it could have. A Fatal car accident!! Unfortunately, this story is true; as a matter of fact it is my story. It’s been about five years since this incident happened; I’m glad that I made it out to tell the story. However, that’s not the ending for so many others. They actually loose their lives in accidents caused by drivers who are distracted by cell-phone use. Cell-phone usage, while driving, can create distractions that can lead to major accidents; the worse case scenario would be death. You and I can come together to ban the use of cell-phones while driving. You may ask how and why? In banning cell-phone use while driving, it will help in preventing unnecessary accidents and deaths, also drivers who talk or text while driving are less aware of their surrounding road conditions, and major cell-phone companies have joined ...
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.
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.
In today’s society, texting and driving have become an issue. Many teens and adults, have formed a habit of using their cell phones while driving. Texting while driving can be very distracting, which can cause many accidents to happen. In trying to prevent this, new laws have been passed, making the use of cell phones while operating a car, illegal. However, too many people do not respect this law. People should stop getting distracted while driving because texting while driving is taking people’s attention on the road, accidents are getting higher and is comparable to drunk driving.
Cell-phone use while driving is neither right nor smart. Putting passengers, pedestrians and other drivers at risk is not just. The lack of responsibility on the part of the driver has contributed to the deaths of millions because of the accidents distracted driving has caused. Every year there are new news reports about the staggering amount of drivers that are in or caused accidents because texting or cell-phone use. The driver has sole responsibility to make sure they are doing everything in their power to keep themselves, passengers, pedestrians and other drivers safe. Banning cell-phone use when driving would be a start to insuring the safety of pedestrians and motorists. If cell-phone use is causing an interference to a person’s ability to drive all states should ban them from use during the operation of any
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.
Imagine a man frantically dialing numbers on his cell phone as he attempts to drive. Suddenly, he veers into the neighboring lane, crashing into another vehicle, instantly killing all of the occupants. This crash could have easily been prevented if he was not distracted by his phone. Incidents like this are leading many states to outlaw the use of a hand held cell phone while behind the wheel. Some people disagree with this law, but they do not understand how dangerous distracted driving really is. It should be illegal to use a hand held phone while driving because they are distracting, the roads will be safer, and their are other methods of communications.
The no texting while driving law was passed in 2007 after 3,092 people were killed by distracted drivers. <http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html>. The law stated that any phone use while driving, no matter how small, was illegal. Even
We are not certain if cell phones have a negative impact on driving safety. None of the experts dispute that finger dialing and hand-held phones momentarily distract drivers. The driver must have the ability to concentrate first and foremost on driving. Many argue that coffee mugs, CD players, radio-even car fax machines, and computers can cause equal or worse distractions for drivers. The question I how responsible is the individual behind the wheel. The risk of being involved in traffic accidents while using cell phones was nearly four times that of the average driver. Using a hands free phone is equally as hazardous as a normal cell phone. Also, it is hard to prove that using a cell phone is dangerous. Advances in technology have lad to voice recognition phones. These types of phones may be a helpful tool in making the roads safer. When the car phone first appeared, some police officials worried that drivers using them would not pay attention to the road and would get into accidents; In fact, the phones have slightly made roads safer. "The point," said Master Sgt. John Duley, of the Connecticut State Policy, "is to drive safely."
The use of mobile phones while driving are a major destruction to the drivers, it is definitely no different from a mother trying to nurse a baby at the back sit. A good percentage of road accidents has been attributed to driver destruction. (David and William, 2001) There are evidence of cell phone related road carnages and this remains to be a concern. In 1999 a girl was killed by a driver when he got destructed by a phone, same case reported last year and even the death of a state corrections officer on North Carolina. However much drivers say they have a right to use their mobile phones, they should know of the destructions it causes when
“Ma'am, your son is dead.” There is not a mother on earth than would like to hear this statement. “He got into a vehicle accident on the road.” How quick was that? Just an hour ago, the family was having dinner, laughing and discussing their day, not knowing that one of them would leave the family permanently, all because of a single mobile phone. Driving a car is the most dangerous form of transportation, though drivers find ways to expand upon this. Even some of the most law-abiding people on the road may or may not admit to pulling out their cellphone to check for a notification or text. Teens, while only starting their driving experience, are not always very careful. They go over the speed limit, fail to turn on turn signals, and do not
Janet P. Froetscher once said," talking a cell phone while driving makes a person four times more likely to be in the crash. This much higher risk than most other distracting activities, including eating, drinking, reading billboards, listening to the radio, or talking to other