Texting While Driving Research Paper

Courtney Thorpe

English 11A

Ms. Dhennin

Hour 5

Texting While Driving

It’s hard to imagine a world without cell phones, yet here they are in the 20th century taking over some people’s unsociable life. They are the leading factor into why some people feel the need to text and drive. Texting while driving is the act of composing, sending, reading text messages, email, or making other similar use of the web on a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle. Many irresponsible drivers don’t always understand the risks of this distracted action, but people need to realize that it is something they need to be aware of the next time they pick up their phone to reply to a text when they are driving. No one can deny that texting while driving is costly,

All around the U.S., car accidents have occurred from this horrible distraction. Another thing that comes with accidents is the cost of any car repairs one might have, perhaps a huge crunch in the bumper or multiple shattered windows. Instead of saving money for what someone might need in the future, they will be spending the hundreds of dollars on fixing their car, a problem that could have been avoided in the first place. Having car insurance is a good thing to have sure, but getting into an accident can make somebody’s insurance rates skyrocket. According to State Farm Insurance, insurance rates go up by 10 percent after the first accident someone gets into and 40 percent after the second one for this insurance company, and these accidents can definitely be resulted from texting while driving (“How Much Insurance”). Along with insurance rates going up, being hospitalized can be a result from texting while driving also, and with this happening, one person might get a hospital fee statement in the mail. Since medical care today has skyrocketed since the past, injuries like crashing the skull against something in the car, which can cause internal bleeding to the brain, can cost another $50,000-$150,000 for patients who are not covered by health care insurance, according to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Even thinking about how much money it costs for medical care

Imagine driving and all of a sudden someone getting a text that they want to reply to just at the wrong time when they pass by a police. That police has the right to pull them over for breaking the law. One California policeman said that himself, along with the U.S. Department of Transportation, “issued more than 10,700 tickets for texting on a cell phone while driving in 2012” (Giancola). For a law that is capable of being followed, people just don’t seem to get it since so many other people are doing it, and getting ticketed at the least for about $135.00 in Minnesota. Furthermore, this distracted action is considered to be breaking the law, and breaking the law is just plain out wrong. According to the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) study, 73% of teens admit to texting or being on the phone while driving and most of them admitted that they know it is the wrong thing to do (Hanes). No one SHOULD be breaking the law even when sometimes it is easy to break. Especially the ones you can get away with most of the time like texting while driving. People should learn how to police themselves and realize that this law is in place for someone’s benefit and for the safety of all civilians. Teens and adults need to know that with a lawless society life would be chaotic, so having just this one law in place is good for having a safe and accident free