No matter which laws are passed, there’s always a certain amount of drivers who think they are above those laws. I see them, on their phones, driving, knowing full well there are laws in place that prohibit such behavior behind the wheel. Roughly, there are about 3,000 deaths due to texting while driving. It’s one of the leading causes of death among young adults next to drunk driving.
For the record, two years ago, my aunt’s sister’s 22-year old daughter was driving in Phoenix with her two young daughters, 18 months and 4 years old. The mother was texting and driving and lost control of her vehicle. The mother’s vehicle collided with a tree and she lost her life. The officer asked the 4-year old if she knew what just happened in terms of
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Laws are not enough because there are drivers out there who simply believe that old catch-phrase “It won’t happen to me.” Education at home and in the classroom are necessary. Right now, almost all new vehicle are equipped with bluetooth capabilities which should enable the driver to have a hands-free calling system experience however I believe this increases the risk factor since it’s still a distraction for many drivers.
The need for a solution is critical. Right now each state, with the exception of Montana, have bans in place on some levels. Currently, there are eight states who hold Secondary Laws for novice drivers on distracted driving. I find this disturbing since a novice is a beginner or inexperienced driver. All drivers need to be held responsible.
Not only does texting and driving pose a problem to a vehicle driver it also poses a threat to an individual walking and texting or a bicyclist on the road on his phone, trust me, I’ve seen it in the big city. Measures need to be in place such as jaywalking for everyone’s safety. Jaywalking tickets in California start at $200 and up. Imagine if this were the case for walking and texting, biking and texting, and an even steeper fine for driving while texting. I found myself with a massive ticket when cell phones first came out. I was pulled over for making a right-hand turn that almost caused an accident because I was too busy talking on my phone. My fine combined with almost causing an accident toppled $600. Trust me, I don’t touch my phone anymore while driving. The cure is in the fines if you ask
Distracted drivers in Illinois don’t perceive the dangerous of taking their eyes of the road. Distracted driving in Illinois is so dangerous because it takes a drivers attention away from the primary task of driving. One text message or Email is a distraction for a driver because their probably texting someone at the moment or are expecting a text from someone, and are eager to read the text message. “Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration tell that When texting, drivers took their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds” (Opposing Viewpoints). Talking your eyes of the road even for a minute is extremely dangerous, a fiasco can happen even if you’re driving around the neighborhood. Drivers think that they are perceived of everything while driving in a neighborhood, and no fiasco can happened. Some drivers are not perceive that young pedestrians (children) cross the streets without any reprimand, and if a driver at the moment is distracted a fiasco can occur. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. Another way death can occur is in the expressway where millions of cars are driving through the expressway in a high speed lim...
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...
In today’s day and age there are so many excuses for distracted driving. Lives are put at risk every time a distracted motorist is on the road, and deaths have increased by a substantial amount in the last ten years. On Thursday, April 26th, 2014 one woman’s bad judgement cost her life (Hastings, 1). Not only was she effected, but her friends and family assuredly felt a pain in their hearts. In the few seconds it took Courtney Ann Sanford to post a few words on Facebook, it was enough to distract her from the road and to drive across another lane and through a median straight into a Truck (Hastings, 1). She was immediately killed. Shortly before her Facebook post, she was sending selfies to her friends (Hastings, 3). This just goes to show
David Hosansky states that the use of cell phones and texting should not be allowed while driving. The increased uses of cell phones and texting while driving has become the center of safety conversations. In fact, there are more than 5,000 deaths related to the use of cell phones and texting while driving over the last decade. Even if laws were put in place it is believed that motorists would still find it hard to put down their phones down. Hosansky also gave an example on the hazards of texting while driving, especially among young drivers. There are very few states that have implemented laws restricting the use of cell phones or texting while driving. David Hosansky is a freelance writer in the Denver area. This article seems to have been written for the general public and thought to be informative. I found this especially helpful and informative in finding this is not just a local problem.
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.
Have you ever gotten distracted while driving in a car? Each time you watch the news you either hear of someone getting into a car accident, by either talking or texting on a cell phone. It is becoming increasingly common for people to wreck due to distractions while driving. Talking and texting are just a couple ways that people get distracted while driving. Texting while driving has brought a lot of attention to state and local representatives due to an increase in accidents caused by distracted drivers. That’s why the organization Auto Alliance Driving Innovation created a poster saying “OMG! Get the message. Texting while driving is a deadly distraction”. The picture has a cracked glass with smeared blood on the side of it. This
Studies also show drunk driving is actually statistically safer than texting and driving. In my observation as my family was traveling to Wisconsin, I put tallies on my notebook to record the results of passing drivers. The results were surprising in that 1 out of 8 kids and 1 out of 5 adults in passing cars were distracted while driving. These statistics are actually scary to me because I will never know which one will make a mistake when I am around them on the road. The negative effects this problem causes death and serious injury to themselves and others. It also effects the distracted drivers by placing others around them in harm. As more people text on the roads the drivers will get too familiar texting and driving. According to most statistics, that’s when most mistakes happen. Phone and car companies allow this behavior to happen simultaneously. Phone companies are making their product easier to be distracted, as the technology is addicting to use for the consumers. The notifications from the phone distract most humans from accomplishing their tasks. The phone pings or sounds and the driver looks down. Car companies are now installing Wi-Fi in the newest cars of our generation. The WI-FI is active for all passengers. The distraction element is also active for
Those that think it is ok to text and drive do not realize how much harm, and danger they are putting their lives at, and the lives of others that are on the road as well. Even if one thinks that they are a good enough driver to be on their phone while they drive, still are not guaranteed that they will not get in an accident. No matter how much someone has been driving, or how good they are does not mean they should be using their phones, because just by taking a glance at their phone for a second could instantly change their lives, if they were to ever get in a car crash, or hurt another human
“It’s the number one killer of teens” (Clark, 2013). A war is waging on throughout the streets of America. Everyday people risk their lives by driving. The enemy? Texting while driving. It is the act of composing, sending, or reading text messages while behind the wheels of a running vehicle. Driving under this influence is extremely careless and dangerous to others and is likely to cause accidents resulting in injuries or deaths. This problem is on the rise because the only ones with the power to make an impact against ending this war are law makers and law enforcement. The truth of the matter is law officials are losing the battle against people sending text messages while driving a car on the road. Law officials are mulling over the situation at hand, not doing enough to fight against the selfish crime. The laws regarding texting and driving are not fierce enough and law enforcement does not successfully apprehend the issue amongst drivers. “A Triple A study that found 9 out of 10 of its Arizona members want a texting and driving ban, but for the last 6 years, state lawmakers have rejected the bans” (Monier, 2013). Citizens desire more protection against this selfless crime, and more needs to be done. Law officials need to create laws regarding texting and driving including harsh penalties that would prove effective and then strictly enforce those laws on the streets because it is their sworn oath and duty to protect the citizens they represent from this unhandled danger.
This is also why I think they should just ban all use of cell phones. “13% of drivers age 18-20 involved in car wrecks admitted to texting or talking on the phone at the time of the crash. 34% of teens say they have texted while behind the wheel of the car, 82% of Americans age 16-17 own a cell phone. 52% say they have talked on the phone while driving.” (Texting ad driving Blog) These numbers could be reduced if we applied the changes I have stated to the
Texting while driving has been on the rise in the recent years, and we’ve all heard the sad and tragic consequences of the using a cell phone while driving. Many states have passed laws regarding the use of cell phones while driving and requiring the use of a hands-free device in your car. Some states have overwhelming fines per offense but some are just a minimal fee. Here’s the facts and figures of the effects of texting while driving.
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...
An 11% of drivers in the U.S. are expected to be on their cell phones at any given time. (The New York Times) In car rides with my fellow seniors from campus to our neighborhood Walmart, never have I seen them drive without having to use their phones while driving. Such behavior seems almost inevitable in today’s society, despite knowing the dangers of such an act. One of my closes friends was on the phone while driving the other day and I remember asking him if it was legal to drive while talking on his phone in Kansas. He responded by saying, it was legal and having to talk on the phone while driving is also a great way to multitask. Like many other drivers in Kansas, he is unaware that Kansas has banned all cell phone use while driving. (Distraction.gov) While other states like Florida only ban the use of text messaging while
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 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).