Driver distraction contributes 20 to 30 percent of all road collisions (Dews & Stayer, 2009). Distraction can be explained by the act of competing activity and doing other things in the vehicle. Driver distraction has become worse when there are a lot advanced technologies that easily use even in vehicles. Mobile phone is one of the technologies that have been widely used. Almost everyone all across the globe is using mobile phone as it is considered as necessary item to have and it is affordable as well. Furthermore, it is unquestionable that the growing trend of mobile phones enhances the communication and telecommunication businesses as well as boost personal convenience. Nevertheless, the excessive usage of mobile phones has taken part …show more content…
It reduces the driver’s alertness, decision making as well as performance which may lead to an accident or near-crash incident” (Hedlund, 2006). There are three features of the problem which are the effects on driving performance, the cause of distraction and the possible consequences. Furthermore, Governors Highway Safety Association’s (GHSA) defines distracted driving as: “Distraction takes place when a driver willingly diverts their attention or concentration away from driving to something else which is not related to driving with the usage of the driver’s eyes, ears, or hands” (GHSA, 2011). Distracted driving is when the drivers are giving their attentions to the mobile phones instead of paying attention to the road. Distracted driving and the use of mobile phone in a car has become synonym for the public in today’s era. Distracted driving covers a wider range of activities, not to focus on texting only as there are other activities that have become a habit or routine while driving (Robertson, 2010). However, texting behind the wheel is one of the major problems …show more content…
From the number of cases stated, there were 182 deaths, 88 persons were suffering from very serious injuries and another 205 persons were having minor injuries. MIROS stated that careless driving can be caused by distracted driving which is using mobile phone while driving. In a mean time, there were about 462,423 cases of road accidents have documented in a year 2012 itself. There was a study in the United States in a year 2006 saying that drivers who use mobile phone while driving has four times higher risk and there is higher possibilities of getting crashed. Even worse when a driver is texting while driving as the probability of getting into road accident grew up to 23 times higher than driving alone without the use of mobile phone. According to experiments that have been conducted by MIROS, they found that distracted drivers have 23 percent slower reaction time and 30 percent slower for mental processing
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.
So just how dangerous can texting while driving actually be? According to Monash University, “those drivers who use handheld devices while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves” (qtd. in Wilson 1). This is not good because there are thousands of divers that are on the road at any given time. University of Utah reports, “Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s handheld or hands-free, delays the driver’s reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of 0.08%” (qtd. in Wilson 1). With more drivers out there that lead to the possibility that a crash could happen “The time it takes to is an average of 4.6 seconds, would be equal to traveling the length of a football field at 55mph visionless.” (Wilson 1). Carnegie Mellon reports, “that with the use of a mobile cellphone reduces the amount of brain activity by associated with driving by 37%” (qtd. in Wilson 1). The Nation...
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
This effort is not a solution or a definition of the actual problem. Despite this heavy focus, on the danger of using a phone while driving, it remains quite common. This is because we as drivers have included our phones, and the tasks we can accomplish with them, into our decision matrix while driving. The various tasks that we can work on, due to the capability of smartphones, adds a level of reward to the risks we must weigh in our decision whether to focus on driving or to entertain
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.
It’s becoming a common occurrence nowadays to see people call and text from their devices in the midst of driving. Consequently, texting while driving has been the major cause of road accidents. It’s true that texting is one of the many form or social media that people use to interact with one another and also a better and quicker medium to get what they want to say, especially in an emergency moment. Thus, drivers become distracted because their attention is focused elsewhere and moreover, lose control with their surrounding. For example, something as simple as an animal running out in front of their car can cause a serious damage to the vehicle and potentially can hit another car.
Texting and driving has become a huge issue in today’s society. Many teens, as well as adults, have formed a habit of using their cell phone while driving. It is distracting and the probabilities of getting into an accident are higher than if you are not using your cell phone.
First and foremost, the risk of using a phone while driving is a big chance of an accident more than what the people think. According to the Harvard study “Texting while driving and other forms of distracted driving are responsible for more than 1 million crashes, 400,000 injuries, and 3,000 deaths in the U.S. each year—and those numbers are likely to in...
It is hard to imagine that you could be the cause or victim of a distracted driving accident. I also shared similar sentiments until I experienced until experience taught me otherwise. Distracted driving is a serious problem, especially in developed nations, and is a leading cause of many road accidents. I am fortunate to have learned this important lesson five years ago and hope that my story has at least played a role in dissuading others from the use of phones while driving. For those who are still unconvinced, I will delineate some of the key reasons why you should stop this bad habit.
Mitigating the Threat of Cell Phone Use While Driving A major threat to the safety of people on road ways are distracted drivers. Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. ("Key Facts").
Some driving distractions don’t end well. A big price is paid when we are distracted while driving. Some distractions cannot be controlled. Things we can control while driving are texting, drinking and aggression. These are among the worst driving hazards and can lead to serious accidents or even death.
Yet, this activity is underestimated by a lot of people. They do not aware that driving can lead to some dangerous causes, for an example an accident or crash. Car accident is mostly caused by the distracted driver that is unaware of what is happening on the road. People should focus on the road when they are driving, thus they will be aware of their surrounding. People are frequently distracted while driving, especially by their smartphones.
Common traits of a distracted driver include texting, calling, Snapchatting, emailing, doing their makeup and the worst of all, Facetiming all while driving. A distracted driver may be found admitting to their bad habit, but defending it with how they are a skilled multitasker. This style of driving causes harm to the driver themselves, their passengers, and anyone else remotely close to their vehicle while it is in movement. Driving carefully is the last thing on these type of people’s minds. Somehow, the distracted drivers forget that focusing their attention away from the road compromises the safety of others.
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
When people eat, drink, text, or otherwise distract themselves from driving and come close to or even do cause an accident.