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Outline of an essay on distracted driving
Outline of an essay on distracted driving
Importance of safety on road use
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Florida is not doing nearly enough to stop texting and driving. There are few laws regarding distracted driving and few programs done specifically by the state to stop texting and driving. With 3,179 deaths caused by distracted driving isn’t it about time Florida did its part to reduce the numbers.
Although texting and driving is illegal in Florida it is only punishable if a secondary offense is committed. As said in the legal examiner, “While creating texting and driving into a primary traffic offense may not reduce the number of distracted drivers, it does create tougher punishment and easier enforcement of the law.” Many people agree that distracted driving is a problem that can be stopped in part by legislation. The only people who don’t
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Statewide, law enforcement officials issued fewer than 1,800 citations in the ban's first year. This is a reprehensible number as a federal study published last year found that at any given daylight hour, 660,000 drivers nationwide are using cellphones or other electronic devices.
In Florida in 2016 as of March 214 distracted driving crashes have resulted in fatalities according to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department. If this continues there could be 856 deaths this year which would be 26% of the 2014 total. That would mean one state alone would be responsible for more than one-fourth of the distracted driving fatalities. That number is just unacceptable.
While there are several campaigns to end distracted driving most of them are national. Florida does have a notice on several of its transportation website telling drivers to not text and drive. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department website and DMV website both have pages tucked away that have public service announcements about texting and driving, but they are hidden from major view. There is currently no state campaign or website that is specifically designed to awareness about texting and driving. Even when googling “Florida texting and driving” only two major results are websites run by the state. Compared with other states this is simply not
These sort of programs have shown immense help in the number of fatalities on the road today. Along with these kinds of programs there have been several laws put in place that ban cell phone use 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 your 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,
Texting while driving is national growing trend, and it is quickly becoming one of the country’s top killers. Most drivers think they can manage to text and drive and still stay safe on the roads; however, the numbers do not lie! According to the National Safety Council, 1,600,000 accidents per year are caused by someone who was texting and driving. Laws and penalties for this act are too lax, and tougher laws should be enforced.
There are approximately 5,400 deaths per year that are linked to distracted driving, and thousands more were injured. (U.S. Department of Labor). Those fatalities are our neighbors, close friends, and even family. How can we prevent this from being so prominent? How can we make the roads a safe place to be again? These questions have many different answers, but many prove to be un-effective. I believe that the best and only way to resolve this issue is to implement tougher laws on cell-phone use in vehicles, and educate our youth to the best of our abilities on the dangers of distracted driving.
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.
During 2013, there were over 3,000 deaths related to distracted driving and over 420,000 injuries. People are distracted when they first get behind the wheel and when they have been driving for hours.
Tribune Staff. (2013, October 1). Florida lawmakers need to toughen texting while driving law. The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved from http://tbo.com/list/news-opinion-editorials/florida-lawmakers-need-to-toughen-texting-while-driving-law-20131001/
There is a high percentage of people that spend a majority of their day sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Whether it is commuting to work, taking the kids to school, running errands, or simply going out to eat one may feel that their car has become a second home. With so much time spent behind the wheel, drivers become comfortable and incorporate distracting activities while trying to remain focused on the road. Our inability to put our cell phones away while driving is inexcusable. Drivers who choose to use mobile devices are endangering people’s lives and property with associated risks that are not acceptable. No one distracted driver is better than the next. Do to rising accidents
Texting and driving is an epidemic that is taking the lives of thousands of peoples each year.
Whether it is a text massage from love one or a bite of a sandwich, it is not so important than a human life. Distracted driving is an epidemic, so more tough laws should be implemented. The law for distracted driving should be tough just like a driving under influence. Distracting driving is a killer on the road, it should be banned because, it is the number one killer of the U.S. teenager in the road, not only the teenager in the road, but also cause a collision which is often fatal, and some incident were driver or one who involve on an accident became disable. Distraction is an involvement of driver where his or hers eye or mind are engage and performing on other things rather than driving, such as while talking on
Texting and driving has statistically become a top name in the distracted driving category. Sixty percent of all fatal crashes were due to distracted driving and out of 60 percent, 18 was caused by texting behind the wheel. Over the years, texting and driving has been compared to being equivalent, or even worse than driving under influence.
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...
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
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.
Now that you know how texting and driving is affecting our nation, let’s talk about different ways to prevent it from causing deaths.
Texting while driving should be illegal in every state due to many reasons of safety. A person 's life is far more valuable than any text message ever will be, no text message is worth the cost of risking the life of yourself and the life of others while behind a motorized vehicle. Being on the phone and texting while driving becomes more and more common on a day to day basis. Safety, well-being, and protection are all ways you can simply take care of yourself, but if you won’t take the time to do it no one will. Only you can help yourself when it comes to your safety and well-being, taking your eyes off of the road to look down, around or anywhere other than watching the road is putting not only yourself but others well at risk of an accident. Texting while driving can border your senses as a driver to not be able to respond when a car comes out of no where, or is even near you.