Is making texting while walking illegal really the only way to prevent people from doing walking distracted? Some people may think that a law to prohibit this type of behavior is unnecessary, however other people believe a law is needed to make people stop this dangerous form of walking. I believe texting while walking should be banned because it is dangerous, has caused many injuries, and our brains cannot do it simultaneously. First, texting while walking is extremely dangerous. When we walk and text concurrently, we are four times more likely to do something life-threatening than someone who is not. For example, distracted walkers may not look before crossing the road. Therefore, there is a higher chance of getting into a car accident …show more content…
The brains we have as humans are unable to focus efficiently on our phones and our surrounding environment simultaneously (Lewis 10). Texting while walking works our brains very hard and could cause headaches . Psychologist David Schwebel at The University of Alabama in Birmingham said,“I think the participants recognized their brain was overloaded and to protect themselves, became more cautious and slowed down to make it safer.” (Whitehead) People that text and walk at the same time tend to slow down and walk in a zigzag pattern. Conrad Earnest, a professional health scientist, noticed that this type of walking closely resembles those who are drunk (Whitehead). Another study has shown that people who text while walking are 61 percent more likely to veer off course than those who do not (Levy). Human brains do not work well when we text and walk at the same …show more content…
One reason may be because it is common sense to not walk distracted so a law is not necessary. However, many people admitted that they would not stop texting while walking unless a law was passed according to Scholastic Scope. In addition, wearing a seatbelt can also be described as common sense, but a lot of people did not put them on until laws were passed (Lewis 11). Another reason may be that putting their phone away reduces their precious phone time. Even if we are losing a short amount of time then, it will further reduce the amount of time people might spend in the hospital due to injuries. The time people spend in the hospital may be days compared to the minutes lost from putting away the cell
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
One woman, Ms. Smith, who was affected by this issue, did some research into what made texting while driving so dangerous. She was shocked to find that a driver on the phone has the same reaction time as a drunk driver. Hane’s article also discusses cell phone addiction and the bad habits people have with cell phones. Researchers have found that a person who noticed they received a text message gets a big rush to their brain, much like professional gamblers when they hit the jackpot.
Another negative effect that mobile phones impair is mental focus while driving. People who are driving have their minds on the task in front of them with their full attention on the road. So when a person is conversing on a phone their attention is split as he or she is trying to multi-task both talking and driving at the same time. An article written by Nathan Seppa, the cause of “split attention”, he noted that David Strayer a psychology professor and his team studied to understand what impairs drivers when they talk on the phone. They conducted an experiment with drivers to see the effects of how varies distractions compare to each other. Strayer’s team accompanied drivers and assign them different distractive tasks while they maintain their eyes on the road in order to assess the effects. In the team’s findings they found that one most distracting tasks was talking on a mobile phone, which caused a driver’s performance to decline significantly. The typical tasks that drivers should perform on a regular basis, such as observing traffic changes, looking in rear-view mirrors, and watching for pedestrians was reduced overall (Seppa). Not many people can multi-task a conversation and driving at the same time without some drawbacks. Another drawback to a person focus was “unintentional blindness”, described by Simons, as “looking at something and not seeing it” (Seppa). So a person who is talking on a phone can end up not seeing an object whether it is a car, a stop sign or a pedestrian that is right in front of him and her. Many experiments were conducted by professionals to understand how “unintentional blindness” can affect a person’s perception, but one notable professional, Simmons, conducted a test of this concept:
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
Between 2000 and 2011 there were 11,000 distracted walking injuries. There is a dispute about if there should be a U.S law about crossing the street, or walking, while having the eyes on your phone. Some people believe that there is no need for a law. Adversaries believe that there is a need for a law to get the road safer. Although some people believe that there is a need for a law, it could be argued that there is no need for a law because there could be other methods for preventing injuries.
Texting and driving involves all three types so you can predict the outcome isn’t too much in our favor (Distracted Driving, 2015). According to the National Safety Council (NDC), the big myth today is that people are capable of multitasking, and even worse multitask while driving, but in fact, the human brain cannot do such a thing. People may be walking and chewing gum at the same time, but that is because those actions involve both a thinking task, and a non-thinking task. Driving and talking on the phone at the same time is risky though because it requires both to be used. Instead of attending to both actions simultaneously, the brain quickly shifts between two cognitive activities (The Great Multitasking, 2010). Taken from a new report from the NSC ,drivers that tend to talk on cell phones often enter a state of what is called “inattention blindness” and when this occurs, they may fail to see up to 50 percent of what is ahead of them (NSC Looks Inside, 2010). The United States Department of Transportation says, "text messaging while driving creates a crash risk 23 times higher than driving while not distracted,” (Distracted Driving, 2015). That makes driving
Texting while driving is dangerous to not only the driver but also other motorist on the road. First, we are safer driving intoxicated then sending a text message while driving. Second, even though some may think its a safe alternative hands free cellphones aren 't any safer then texting while driving. Lastly, many people believe texting while driving is just a quick convenient thing but in truth it encourages poor habits and is dangerous.
I know for certain that I know of at least once instance where I've sat at a stop light and seen the person next to me on their cell phone texting away, checking face book or snapping pictures. Can you imagine being that person who killed someone else or even yourself for that matter just because you wanted to send out that quick message through text? I have over the course of two years been in four accidents involving a person distracted by being on their call phone either through text. Luckily there weren't any substantial injuries or damages involved, but things could been much worst.
In 1973 an inventor by the name Martin Cooper developed the first cell phone that was approved for commercial use. Since cell phone first invent they have gone massive changes and become more advanced, from bag phones to phones look like bricks, and from tiny phone to every day smart phone, cell phones are always changing. The advancement in technology, changed our relationship with the phone and changed the way we behave. Making calls in public places, some love it, others hate it. Today we live in a world of continues communication, everywhere we look, people are calling, texting or taking pictures with their phones. In fact people are going against their better judgment and continue to text even during activities that considered dangerous
Distracted walking has become a serious and dangerous problem in the United States. Some people think the solution is to make it illegal. Others think it should not be illegal because, they think it is gust common sense to walk without texting on the phone, but surley it is not to some people. Acording to statisitics from Distraction.gov the average driver takes their eyes off of the road for five seconds per text message, covering and entire football feilds worth of the road. Despite that a Universty is working on an app the will alert your phone when pedestrians are near/walking by a croswalk or a stop sign. Walking while texting should be illegal for a colosol amount of saftey reasons.
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
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.
Have you ever been walking and gotten a message? If so, that one text could have killed you. Distracted walking has become a serious and dangerous problem in the United States. Some people think the solution is to make it illegal. Others think that it's just common sense to pay attention to your surroundings.
Texting while driving has become a known danger nowadays, but not very many people know that texting while walking can be unsafe as well.... ... middle of paper ... ... A. “Mobile Phones and Society-How Being Constantly Connected Impacts Our Lives.”