All it takes is one text. Both teenagers and adults have admitted to texting while driving or being in a car while the driver is distracted by their cell phone. Some believe that texting while should be banned for everyone while others believe that only novice and bus drivers should be prohibited from doing so. To fix the issue at hand, not only should texting while driving be banned for everyone, we must firmly enforce the laws already set in place, and the education system should be required to teach the dangers of distracted driving earlier in the child’s time as a student. “Greenhaven Press State's “Overall, adult cell phone owners send or receive an average of 41.5 texts a day, according to the Pew Research Internet Project. Those between eighteen and twenty-four years old send or receive considerably more—an average of 109.5 texts a day, or about 3,200 text messages a month. And in this age group, 12 percent send or receive an average of two hundred texts or more a day, or six thousand a month.” In recent years texting has become one of the most popular ways to stay in touch with the people around you. Texting is something that occurs every day and almost everyone does it. One of the …show more content…
main influences on teens is the celebrities they idolize. Celebrities play a huge role in how people, and especially teens behave . If a Celebrity acts or promotes something people will follow in suite. An example of this is Nicole Polizzi also known as Snooki from The Jersey Shore. In 2010 Polizzi tweeted “"Ugh stuck in newark traffic is no fun. Stop and go traffic I'm killen myself here :(.” By tweeting that out many of her followers may think that it is okay to text or use social media when behind the wheel.
Texting while driving is extremely dangerous, however people still take part in the action. Texting while driving is worse than driving under the influence. When you are distracted by your phone you have lost all focus of the road. There was a survey in 2009 the Magazine Car and Driver reported “It found that on average, driving at 70 mph, one man braking suddenly while legally drunk (0.08 blood alcohol content) traveled 4 feet beyond his baseline performance. But reading an e-mail while driving sober, he traveled 36 feet beyond the baseline result and 70 feet while sending a text. In the worst case while texting, he traveled 319 feet before
stopping.” This shows that people need to keep complete focus on the road. Some may say that they can text and drive at the same time and drive with the same amount of safety as if they were not distracted. When you are driving you must be responsible and put, full attention on the road so that you can make decisions fast enough when driving. Your brain can not do two things at once. Texting someone while driving is completely different from a passenger in the the car talking to the driver, because the passenger can tell when they need to calm down or stop speaking depending on the driving environment. The texter most likely is texting the driver without knowing if the person is driving or not. If the text conversation needs a lot of attention the driver will has more of a chance of keeping their eyes on the phone and completely zoning out the rest of the activities going on around them and will have awareness of the road and other drivers. Many say they have never and will never text while they drive but, it is very hard to believe. “ Our phones have effectively programmed us with new habits , including a powerful urge to pull them out even when we're not supposed to,” said Neyfakh. This statement is very true to the people of today. Phones are like safety blankets. People pull out their phones when they're outside of their comfort zone. We would rather go on our phones than start up a conversation with a person we are not familiar with. So as people of the 21st century we have became dependent on our phones. When we hear a ding or see a text message we admittedly pick up our phones to respond. So why would driving stop us from doing the same. Many say they have never and will never text while they drive but, it is very hard to believe. “ Our phones have effectively programmed us with new habits , including a powerful urge to pull them out even when we're not supposed to,” said Neyfakh. This statement is very true to the people of today. Phones are like safety blankets. People pull out their phones when they're outside of their comfort zone. We would rather go on our phones than start up a conversation with a person we are not familiar with. So as people of the 21st century we have became dependent on our phones. When we hear a ding or see a text message we admittedly pick up our phones to respond. So why would driving stop us from doing the same. To decrease the amount of people who text and drive, all states must ban the ability to use and hold a handheld device if you are the person behind the wheel. The reason for this is because it is hard to tell if someone is texting or just holding their device. Also the laws must be made stricter with more consequences, so that people will learn from this mistake because even if it is illegal right now no one follows the law. In the majority of states only new(and novice) and bus drivers are banned. The Education System must teach the children of the 21st century the laws about texting and driving and the consequences of performing that act earlier on because kids are getting electronic devices at an earlier time in their lives than before. So the earlier they learn the better. Children learn from examples and will copy behavior. So, not only do parents need to tell and show their kids what is wrong and what is right, so do teachers. If the children learn that texting and driving is wrong, they will begin to influence and remind their parents the law if they catch them in the act of texting while driving. In conclusion, the safest way to drive is without any distractions. The drivers need to be responsible and drive with full attention on the road, by doing so they will be protecting themselves and others. But, before the drivers can become fully responsible the drivers need to be informed and follow the laws set in place.
In the article “Should Text Messaging while Driving Be Banned? NO!” the author shares exceptionally valid points for his argument and I believe that outlawing texting while driving would prove to be disastrous. Radley Balko wrote this article to explain the appalling outcome of banning texting while driving, however, he does not advocate that everyone should look at their phones with glee while operating a motor vehicle. We must also promise ourselves to never let the glowing screens of our cellular devices captivate our attention or be more important than safely operating a motor vehicle.
Phones use while driving is one of the worst habits to have. Drivers who text while driving are twice as likely to crash than some who is drinking and driving (New Approaches to End Texting While Driving). Teenagers believe they are the best drivers and can multitask while driving. In order to text while driving you have to be looking at your phone. If you are looking phone you are not taking precaution to what in front of you. People think looking down for one second will not hurt. In one second anything could happen such as hitting someone or even running off the road. Other people ar...
In order to operate a motor vehicle, you must be 16, by this age the driver should be responsible enough to make right decisions. Yet drivers make poor decisions, they do not take into consideration the bans and law prohibiting them to text behind the wheel. In 2009, Car and Driver preformed an experiment showing that texting while driving is more dangerous than being intoxicated behind the wheel. Texting bans have been proven to be lasting only a short time. People will react to a ban, but soon after will fall right back to their habits behind the wheel.
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
III. (Credibility statement): According to Kenneth Burke 18.7 billion texts are sent worldwide every day. This doesn't count message sent over Facebook or other social media sites with combine to over 60 billion texts sent every day (Burke). Texting is clearly a common way for people to communicate but is it an effective form of communication?
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.
How often do we text? Text messaging is a very useful way to communicate; but, there are occasions where texting is unnecessary, for example in meetings, watching movies, interacting with family, and even in the shower. However, while texting can be overused, it can also help us get to know one another in easier and faster ways. In Natalie Y. Moore’s article “The Rule of Thumbs: Love in the Age of Texting," she explains how the use of texting it is slowly destroying the love between two people (Moore, 1). Although, some people might agree with Moore points of view, when she argues that texting is killing romance and it should be reserved for some notifications, such as “I’m running late;” others might disagree with this idea
Althought the argument against texting, viewing or any form of distracted driving seems to be very clear a new report submitted by The National Traffic Safety Board imply that driving while texting is in their words “is totally fine” and “not that big a deal” just make sure you look away from your phone every so often.
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...
Research has proven that it is difficult to concentrate on driving and talking at the same time. A recent British study showed that talking on a mobile phone while driving was more hazardous than operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Tests conducted by scientists for UK-based insurance firm, Direct Line, involved 20 subjects using a driving simulator to test reaction times and driving performance and compared this to when drivers had too much to drink. The results showed drivers' reaction times were, on average, 30 percent slower when talking on a handheld mobile phone than when legally drunk - and nearly 50 percent slower than under normal driving conditions. The tests also showed that drivers talking on phones were less able than drunk drivers to maintain a constant speed, and they had greater difficulty keeping a safe distance from the car in front.
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
An estimated 450,000 were killed or injured last year in distracted-driving accidents. Some people don’t look at texting and driving as a big deal, while others do. There needs to be more strict laws on this subject. Texting and driving should be more enforced because it causes many 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.
Janet Froetscher who is on the National Safety Council stated, “We know that at least 1.6 million car crashes involve drivers using cell phones and texting.” This high number of accidents breaks down to 11 deaths of just teenagers a day. Texting while driving should be made illegal to save lives. Mike Dudzinski a current fire captain of Peoria, Arizona stated in an interview that in just a year he experiences about 100 deaths with texting being the cause. Texting while driving is a wide controversy that needs to be made as a law in order to protect lives.
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.