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Danger of texting while driving
The impact of texting while driving
The danger of texting and driving
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Recommended: Danger of texting while driving
“Texting while driving is the act of reading, viewing, writing, or sending text messages via cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.”(1) Texting and driving is one of the leading causes of death in America. Texting while driving is a danger to yourself and the people around you and to your wallet. Similar to seat belt laws, texting and driving is not a national law but instead a state law. There are currently only 44 of the 50 states with laws against texting while driving, some stricter than others. Two states that have no law against texting and driving are Arizona and Montana. According to the Azdot, Arizona had a total of 116,609 crashes in 2015, whereas Oregon, which does have laws prohibiting texting while driving, according to …show more content…
Depending on the state you will receive a mandatory fine of between $20 and $500. In some states texting and driving results in criminal misdemeanor charges or jail/prison time if you caused an injury or death to another driver. You can also receive points on your drivers record, suspension or revocation of driving privileges, or vehicle impoundment. You can also be required to attend road safety classes. The more times you receive citations for texting while driving the worse the punishment is, for example a higher fine or a longer jail sentence. Texting while driving is a major distraction to you and greatly increases your chance of crashing your vehicle. According to Edgar Snyder, texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with your eyes off of the road. Texting and driving cause you to take your eyes off of the road and off of the cars around you and it forces you to take one or more hands off of the steering wheel. Texting while driving also takes your mind off of driving, leaving vulnerable to make mistakes. According to Edgar Snyder, answering a text takes your attention away from the road for approximately five
The several effects of distracted driving are deadly. Andrew Lavallee points out that “texting while driving is unsafe. Not only are a driver’s eyes off the road, one or both hands are off the wheel.” “We think it is incompatible with safe driving” (qtd. in Lavallee). “Study upon study showed that talking on a cellphone was far more dangerous than she’d realized – that a driver on a phone had the same reaction speed as someone legally intoxicated, that those talking on a phone behind the wheel are four times as likely to crash” (qtd. in Hanes). Stephanie Hanes also mentions that, “Unlike a conversation with a passenger, the electronic conversation takes a driver into a virtual space away from the road.” Subsequently, this causes severe problems and deadly
The New York Times. Results show that texting behind the wheel causes 330,000 injuries and 2,600 deaths a year. People who talk or text on the phone are just as impaired, or even more impaired, as a drunk driver. A study performed at the University of Utah, shows that the participants crashed when they were texting while driving, but when they were intoxicated, they did not crash. This shows that texting while driving takes your focus off of the road and into the conversation you are having on the phone.
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.
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
...fine. The sanctions rise for successive offenses as well, with the second violation calling for an amount in the region of $250 fine and the third and subsequent violations carrying $500 fines each. Violators are also disciplined ruthlessly if their actions result to an accident (Chretien n.p.). Some other states, such as California and Virginia have fines of $20 for breaking their texting while driving laws (“Texting While Driving Legislation”). Imposing only a fine of such low monetary value does not properly bear the significance of the crime or work strongly enough to discourage drivers from doing away with their phones putting their phones while driving. To unify evenly, the law should be enforced to deter texting while driving. The punishment for contravening the law should be constant throughout the country. The model used by Massachusetts should be embraced.
The ability to drive is one of the greatest privileges anyone is allowed to receive, and should not be taken for granted. Many people though do not take this into consideration, and will often fail to realize that their doing something wrong when they are driving. Texting while driving is one of the most common mistakes people do while driving, and is most responsible for many car collisions, and deaths. Over the years many people are now using their phones while driving, and many of those people are teenagers, that are just starting off driving.
There is a current social issue that is killing many people today: texting and driving. It is very tempting to immediately check your phone when it notifies you when you receive a text message. Ignoring the sound of your phone while driving is very important for safe driving. It is not only affecting one person, it also affects the area or people around you. I believe texting and driving should be illegal because there has been many accidents due to this distraction.
First, texting while driving can cause a driver to be distracted. Texting by far is the most alarming distraction because it requires you full attention. It requires the driver
Each different state has their own respective laws regarding policy and punishment when it comes to texting while driving, all of which are not strong enough to force people to put their phones down. Every state should have the same exact laws against texting. Due to these facts, it is imperative that the United States’ government takes strong action against the rising war on texting and driving. Making it a requirement to download applications and ensuring that our country understands the horrific danger that can occur simply from typing “hey whats up”
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
Now a days everyone is glued to their phones, constantly checking their emails, facebooking, snapchatting and texting. With all the devices people have and interact with on a day to day basis, there seems to be a lack of knowledge on how dangerous these devices really are. A report done by the AAA traffic safety foundation showed that “Each year, more than 80% of drivers in the annual AAA Foundation Traffic Safety Culture Index cite distraction as a serious problem and a behavior that makes them feel less safe on the road.” With the limited hours of free time during the day, people are using driving time to check emails and make phone calls which is inflicting on the safety of everyone around them. Texting and driving needs to be a thing of
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
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.
Does texting while driving is dangerous? Texting while driving might be common in the United States. However it’s illegal in most states since this situation is really dangerous for the driver and passengers. “Driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)”. To put it another way, I totally coincide with them, driving a car while texting is extremely dangerous, from the time when the driver using at least four to six seconds on the phone to text furthermore send which is taking the eyes off the road for a split of seconds and that can be a reason of an accident.