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Should driving while texting be illegal
The Dangers Of Distracted Driving Essay
Should driving while texting be illegal
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Every time you get behind the wheel you always got to ask yourself if a text is more important than ruining or even ending your life. So many people have lost their lives because they chose to text and drive. You can always put a text or call on hold till later but you cannot do that with your life. When choosing to text while driving you are not only putting your life in danger but also other people that may be in the car with you or around you. My paper is about texting while driving and I will discuss what my topic is over, the consequences that come along with it, and what is being done to stop people from texting while driving. In order to understand texting while driving, a person must have some background on the subject. “Texting should be illegal,” (Whiting, 2). I believe texting while driving should be outlawed. It’s truly one of the biggest causes of accidents. Texting and driving is so much more critical than drunk driving. “I have seen driver after driver on cellphones so focused on calls that they are a hazard to me and others,” (Elswick, 2). Most people don’t realize how dangerous texting while driving really is. People take that action too lightly. There is a major life threatening decision you make every time you are behind the wheel. Most people don’t really …show more content…
Therefore there are many reasons as to why people shouldn’t text and drive. Taking your eyes off the road even just for a few seconds can be really risky. Washington state became the first to pass a law prohibiting drivers from texting behind the wheel. Studies have proven that typing on a cell phone or handheld device triples the risk of a crash. “Is it worth a life, or even an accident?” (Roux, 2). A lot of people may believe taking their eyes off the road for a few seconds to answer a text is not dangerous at all. When in reality it is the most dangerous thing a person could do behind the
According to Stephanie Hanes in the essay “Texting While Driving Is as Dangerous as Drunk Driving,” a driver on a phone and those talking on a phone are four times likely to crash. This statistic shows how dangerous using the phone or even texting is while driving. As technology has increased, so has the use of cellphone. Distracted driving has caused an increase in car fatalities and disasters. However, distracted driving can be prevented if drivers take precautions, but no matter what we do, trouble will always be spelling on the road.
This article shows both sides of the “Texting While Driving “debate. The article talks about how banning texting while driving could be a good thing. It states that countless of fatal car crashes have been caused by texting motorists. It also gives information on why banning texting while driving could be a bad thing mainly because it is a law that is hard to enforce. This article does a very good job of portraying both views. It is chock full of facts, quotes and studies that support each argument.
The Harvard Center of Risk Analysis preformed a study, they studied the road and people who text while they drive. 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 was performed at the University of Utah, it 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. Also, the University of Utah has proven that hand free devices do not make driving any safer. But, driving with passengers and talking to them makes drivers safer. Passengers help inform drivers of possible risks on the
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.
Most of the drivers are likely to mix up driving and messaging from their cell phones while driving regardless of the laws standing on the issues, and danger posed to them. A majority of those drivers engaging in this act do not contemplate the possible detrimental effects from their actions. Research has indicated that texting while driving contributes to road accidents significantly. This situation is sufficiently bad to the extent that there are more accidents caused by messaging while driving than those caused by drunken driving (Fumento n.p.). From the foregoing statements, this essay seeks to support the laws, which outlaws texting while driving by highlighting how dangerous it is for drivers to massage while driving.
Thesis statement: Risks of texting while driving over the past few years has become a key topic for many Americans through the country. It has been the cause of numerous deaths and injuries and remains a vast disturbance for drivers. Hence driving is one of the greatest common causes of misfortunes on roads. This can result in, physical visual and cognitive distraction and significantly increases the amount of time a driver devotes not looking at the road. Therefore police officers should seize the phones of those who text and drive.
Texting and driving is a deadly issue in today 's generation. Using our cellphones while driving is a damaging habit among teens and adults. This habit caused many catastrophic accidents and deaths. Texting while driving has made the roads unsafe for other drivers. Many states recognize the immense threat resulting from texting and driving and have placed a ban on this epidemic. While many people realize texting and driving is hazardous others believe that the ban is useless and not strong enough of a solution.
Over the past two decades the use of cell phones has grown significantly and statistic from the past two years have proven that driving while on the phone or texting is becoming one of the leading causes of traffic accidents today. In 2011, a survey of more than 2800 American adults revealed that even thought they know that using a cell phone or texting while driving is distracting, they do it anyway, and teens surveyed admit that texting while driving is their number one distraction. "Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% ...
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...
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.
People are constantly fixated on their phones, checking social media and texting and they seem to have become accustom to doing this wherever they please, whether it be at dinner, at work or in the car. The use of a cell phone while driving is extremely dangerous and destructive to not only the driver, but also everyone driving around them. Every year, twenty one percent of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of using their cell phone while behind the wheel. This statistic is expected to grow as much as four percent every year. But, texting and driving is not just a problem among teen drivers. One-fifth of adult drivers in the United States also report sending text messages while driving (“Cell Phone & Texting Accidents”). To help fight this problem, the government needs much take a stronger stance and try to stand up against texting and driving to make the idea a bigger deal and implement harsher punishments, as well as stressing the damaging effects of texting and driving to children and teens early on in
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
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).
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.