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The dangers of using cellphones while driving
The dangers of cellphone use while driving outline
The dangers of using cellphones while driving
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Motor Vehicle Fatalities Increasing According To One Report The National Safety Council (NSC) has released its findings for the first half of 2016 regarding motor vehicle fatalities. According to the NSC, fatalities from motor vehicle accidents increased nine percent from the same period a year before and eighteen percent from the previous year. During the first six months of 2016, approximately 19,100 people died in traffic accidents and 2.2 million people were seriously injured. The total cost from these deaths and injuries is $205 billion. Florida had the largest increase in motor vehicle fatalities since 2014 in the United States. Florida’s increase in motor vehicle deaths was 43 percent, almost 20 percent more than the fifth largest increase (Kentucky at 24 …show more content…
Even though most states have laws making the use of handheld cell phones and/or texting while driving illegal, drivers ignore the laws as they continue to use electronic devices while driving. However, it is not just texting while driving or talking on the cell phone that distracts drivers. The latest craze, Pokémon Go, is said to be responsible for several traffic accidents. What Is Distracted Driving? Distracted driving is defined as “any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving.” Teenagers and young adults are not the only drivers who are guilty of driving while distracted. Several studies have shown that adults are more likely to text while driving than teen drivers. Distracted driving is quickly becoming one of the leading causes of traffic accidents. Any activity a driver engages in while driving that takes his or her focus off the road can be dangerous, even engaging in a conversation with other passengers. Examples of distracted driving include: • Texting while driving • Talking on the cell phone (either handheld or
The term “distracted driving” may be hard to define, but, simply, it is the act of driving while being engaged in any activity. Stephanie Hanes describes in her article, how texting is a deadly epidemic. The distractions occurring while we drive on the road endangers the lives of drivers and passengers around us. Andrew Lavallee explains in his article “Companies build Services to End Texting and Driving,” how texting is wildly popular these days. David Andreatta points out some activities which drivers are engaged in while on road, in his article “Texting and Driving Can Spell Disaster.”
Distracted driving is such an increasing problem in the U.S. that there are laws against driving distracted. In New Jersey there is a handheld ban for all drivers and that is a primary law. There is a ban on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for novice drivers. There is also a ban on texting for all drivers. This problem Is growing, drivers who are texting are 23.2 times more likely to get into a crash than people who aren’t (Cell Phones and Texting). Every driver takes their eyes off the road for approximately 4.6 seconds when texting. Driving is a new skill for teens, so doing multiple things simultaneously takes more effort for them than for more experienced drivers. Texting and driving can ruin families because when texting and driving there is a higher chance of getting in a crash. There are only 2 percent of people who can actually multitask successfully. Even though teens are more likely to try multitasking they are still part of the 98 percent who can’t do it safely. For example, Nebraska teen Emily Reynolds says...
According to a National Survey published in the May 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, alcohol related car accidents have increased by 17% since 2004.
According to the Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, "automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for those aged 3 to 33, with 43,005 (118 per day) Americans killed in 2002 alone" (Clayton, Helms, Simpson, 2006). Worldwide, vehicle accidents consist of 1.2 millions deaths per year, "behind only childhood infections and AIDS as cause of death amount people aged 5 to 30 years old" (Clayton., 2006). The annual cost of road accidents is estimated about $518 billion"(Factor, Yair, Mahalel, 2013). The fact alone of being in a moving, heavy vehicle is a danger in itself but individuals that do not wear their seat belts, talk on the phone, text, and do other distracting behavior also put themselves in even more harmful situations.
All around the world, texting while driving has become an even more dangerous hazard than drinking while driving among teenagers and adults who openly acknowledge sending and reading text messages while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. Texting while driving is arguably one of the most dangerous, selfish, and careless acts that a driver can take part in on the road today. According to Teens Against Distracted Driving, a study was done at the University of Utah that showed that while people are texting and driving, it reduces their attention level down to that of a person with an alcohol level of 0.08%, which is the legal limit to which someone can be
Research indicates that despite the common sense risks, few state laws specifically banning their use exist leading to the conclusion that this is a dangerous problem. While many states are moving towards straitening their existing laws or implementing “Distracted Driver” laws, the continued implications of allowing drivers to distract themselves is growing exponentially. For example, in the State of Maine, our legislature enacted a bill, which upon approval was added into law as Maine Title 29-A MRSA, § 2119 (Distracted). This law, which basically defined just texting as a distraction, did nothing towards curbing the use of major distractions while driving. Except for newly licensed, young drivers, there is no prohibition on cell phone use while driving in Maine; however, all Maine drivers are prohibited from texting while driving.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated about 9 people die every day in the U.S. due to a distracted driver. A distracted driver is someone who while driving, is being engaged in other activities such as texting, eating, and talking to the passenger. There are three different types of distractions while driving; visual distractions, manual distractions, and cognitive distractions. These types of distractions are very dangerous while driving and there are many things that can be done to prevent or control these distractions.
What is considered to be distracted driving in today’s world, is it just using devices or talking. Well in research article from BMC Public Health, “DD is an activity that can take a driver’s eyes off the road and divert his/her attention to something else”. Distracted driving includes but is not limited to using a mobile device, using a GPS, personal hygiene, talking to passengers, reading, even just adjusting the radio/stereo and list goes on and on. So how do adults and teen drivers classify these, well it is broken down in to 3 different parts. Visual, Manual, and Cognitive. Each equal having a negative effect on adult and teen drivers, cause them to become a DD. These three categories of DD, as found in Maclean’s Magazine, that each one has a certain effect on adult and teen drivers causing them to lose focus on the road in which makes them unaware of their surroundings. The Visual side is anything that cause the adult or teen driver to take their eyes off the road in which causing them to place their eyes on something else. The Manual side is in which the adult or teen driver takes his/hers hands off the wheel for something else in which takes control of motor vehicle away from driver.
Based on available resources, 40000 people die each year in car accidents. This figure is an intimidating figure because it show the occurrence of death in a crash. In this accident, the leading cause of death is people under the age of 35 years old. Safety belts can prevent death in about half of these accident.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. The reason teens are having the most high risk accidents is because of drinking and driving. In 2013 2,163 teens in United States
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
We as a society need to all take responsibility when we are on the road and avoid the many temptations and distractions surrounding us. Distracted driving is dangerous plain and simple. Some may be willing to take the risk because they have never had an accident while behind the wheel. But it’s
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
Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been decreasing lately. As a proportion of all traffic fatalities it has been decreased since 1982. In fact since 1982 the number of alcohol releated traffic fatalities has decreased 30%, from 25,165 to 17,699, w hile alcohol-related traffic fatalitites, as a proportion of all traffic fatalities, decreased from 57% to 45%.
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