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More handpicked essays just for you.
Using cellphones while driving
Cause and effects of distracted driving essay
Deaths from texting and driving
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Recommended: Using cellphones while driving
Imagine it is a beautiful sunny day and you are sitting in your house when all of a sudden you check your phone and see you have just received a phone call from your mom saying your relative has been killed in a car accident. Drunk driving? A collision maybe? No, perhaps something much worse, texting and driving. In 2011, at least 23% of auto collisions involved cell phones--that’s 1.3 million crashes total. The minimal amount of time your attention is taken away from the road while texting and driving is 5 seconds. This means if you’re traveling at 55 miles per hour, that equals driving the length of a football field without even looking at the road. Automobile accidents take place every single day, such as head-on collisions, t-bone accidents, …show more content…
drunk driving, single - vehicle accidents and a wide range of many more that may occur. Texting while driving tops the list of car accidents and it should not be. Teens and adults both have trouble putting and keeping the cell phone down while driving. While behind the wheel, it is extremely important to be focused on the road and nothing else. Focusing on your cell phone is a huge distraction and extremely dangerous. To stay off a cell phone, the most important thing would be to simply turn it off. As hard as that is for teen drivers, turning the phone off is the only way to prevent a teen from texting while they drive. If turning off your phone does not make you feel comfortable, putting it on silent is another option as long as you will not feel tempted to look at your phone if you receive a notification. According to the Stop Texts Stop Wrecks campaign, in 2013, 3,154 people were killed and an estimated additional 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.
This represents a 6.7 percent decrease when compared to the number of deaths recorded in 2012. Unfortunately, approximately 3,000 more people were killed in 2013 than in 2012. In New Jersey it is illegal to use a handheld cell phone. The fine for this violation is $100. Why get a stupid ticket and risk an accident when you could use that $100 to buy something useful like food or clothing? Over 90 percent of frequent drivers in an AT&T-sponsored survey said they know texting and driving is dangerous -- but that doesn’t stop them from doing it. “People drive more erratically when they’re texting than when they’re drinking and driving [and] we know that people are six times more likely to be in an accident if they’re texting and driving, Teens are dangerously addicted to their cell phones and even when they need to put them down and not use them for ten minutes while they drive, some cannot do it. This is scary and makes us wonder what the future will hold for us. However, right now we must take the proper steps to prevent everyone from texting and driving because nobody wants the horrifying news that someone they love has passed away because of a piece of technology that is supposed to be helping us, not hurting
us.
Texting and Driving has been a huge factor in accidents. More and more cities are starting to make cell phone use illegal to prevent many life threatening accidents. A phone call and text message can wait. You never know as drivers what the people are doing around you are doing unless you are watching your surroundings. The driver might be a really good driver and might be paying some attention to the road while you are on your phone but the road needs all of the drivers attention so that prevention of accidents is at its
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.
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 their 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, 1).
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Fatality states that texting while driving causes nearly eleven teen deaths every day and 330,000 injuries per year. Almost 25 percent of all car accidents involve someone who was texting as they were driving; that is 1.3 million crashes. Texting while driving is the number one distraction for majority of drivers. Five seconds is the minimal amount of time a driver’s attention is taken from the road while using a cell phone. With that being said, if one is traveling at 55mph, five seconds is equal to driving the length of a football field without paying attention to the road.
Even though texting and driving is against the law, men and women of all ages are doing it on a regular basis. Statistically speaking, 23% of car accidents, which was about 1.3 million, involved cell phones in 2011 (“Texting and Driving..”). According to Edgar Snyder and Associates Law Firm out of Western Pennsylvania, “In 2011, 3,331 people were killed and 387,000 people were injured in accidents involving a distracted driver.” Along with those stats, and according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “texting and driving kills 11 teens each day” (“Texting and Cell Phone..”). These numbers show how fatally dangerous texting and driving can be. As mentioned earlier, it is illegal, so humans shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. However, if someone gets caught, they could be looking at a ticket costing about, 135 dollars, not including the additional base fine, surcharge and the law library fee (“Texting and Driving, Challenges..”). If a person chooses to text and drive and...
One of the dangers of texting while driving at the same time is the attention it takes away from the road. A driver, who is focused on looking at their phone, is not paying enough attention to other cars or what is happening around them. Something as simple as a car stopping in front of them can cause serious damage to the driver and to the other car. “Texting” while driving is the act of composing, sending, or reading text messages, email, or making other similar use of the internet on a mobile device while operating a motor vehicle, such as an automobile, truck, or train (Reuters). Many people and authorities have viewed it as a dangerous practice. It is on occasion like this, where familiarity with the road and surrounding will not make it easier for the driver to look at their cell phone. The probabilities of drivers texting on the cell phone and getting into accidents are only getting higher. Cell phone use while driving accounts for a major cause of
People are constantly fixated on their phones, checking social media and texting and they seem to have become accustom to doing this wherever they please, whether it be at dinner, at work or in the car. The use of a cell phone while driving is extremely dangerous and destructive to not only the driver, but also everyone driving around them. Every year, twenty one percent of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of using their cell phone while behind the wheel. This statistic is expected to grow as much as four percent every year. But, texting and driving is not just a problem among teen drivers. One-fifth of adult drivers in the United States also report sending text messages while driving (“Cell Phone & Texting Accidents”). To help fight this problem, the government needs much take a stronger stance and try to stand up against texting and driving to make the idea a bigger deal and implement harsher punishments, as well as stressing the damaging effects of texting and driving to children and teens early on in
Texting while driving is referred to as distracted driving. "Distracted driving continues to be the number one leading cause of car accidents in America. Talking on the phone, texting, eating, reading, grooming, and talking are just some of the ways drivers get distracted behind the wheel. Drivers who use a hand-held device are 4 times more likely to get into a car accident than drivers that pay attention to the road ahead. Individuals who text message while driving are 23 times more likely to get into an accident. Do not risk your safety or your life. Put everything down and pay attention to the road ahead. It is the single most important thing you can do today to reduce your risk of getting into 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).
There are few too many ways why drink driving is terrible because innocent people are dying every day because of this problem, more action should be informed.
An Adesman stated that, “A person who is texting can be as impaired as a driver who is legally drunk.” A car traveling at 55mph covers the length of a football field in five seconds. The average person who sends out text messages while driving spends on average about eight seconds of looking down at their phone. Approximately 10% of driving time is spent outside of their original lane, by drifting while texting. “There's a difference between driving and texting. When you’re driving your eyes have to be open and on the road watching the cars around you, road signs, and traffic lights. Along with your mind on the road and destination. Which means you are multitasking. When your texting your eyes are on your cell phone screen and key pad. Along with your mind on what you’re going to say next. So how can you do both?” This quote was written by Johnathan Anthony Burkett who wrote the story Neglected but Undefeated. The chances of getting into a car crash are increased four times more than those who are not distracted. Texting while driving involves manual, visual, and the mental ability of a driver which makes messaging while driving one of the worst distractions.
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...
Imagine 3.3 million people. About 3.3 million people die yearly due to car accidents. All because of driving under the influence of alcohol. It’s important to talk about drunk driving because the rates of death increase more each year. As you go further into this topic, you will get to know more about how lethal drunk driving can be.
Drunk driving is very dangerous and has become a serious problem in today’s world. People who are drunk and behind a steering wheel tend to drive carelessly. Many people across the nation die every day due to drunk driving incidents. Statistics show that “Every day in America, about 27 people die as a result of drunk driving accidents” (Madd “Drunk Driving”). To prevent drunk driving and the death of innocent men, women, and children, society must promote education, increase punishment, and limit the sale of alcohol.
Whether it’s for a party, celebration, happiness, sadness, depression, relaxation, stress, no matter what you say there will be a reason to consume alcohol. According to the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism, in 2013 87% of people 18 or older drank alcohol in life at least once. Half of whom are college students who binge drink. According to the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism, in 2013, 60 percent of college students drank some sort of alcoholic beverage in the past month. With 39 percent who binge drank in the past month, lastly with 12.7 percent of whom heavy drank.