According to the U.S Department of Transportation, ten percent of all drivers from ages fifteen to nineteen that were involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. Therefore, it can be seen that distracted driving is a major issue among many drivers in this generation. Unfortunately, many times distracted driving can end up in horrid tragedy almost as fast as the time it takes for someone to look down at their phone and get distracted. Many organizations have created advertisements, and public service announcements that help shine the light on these serious issues, and help educate people. Videos, and photos depicting the dangers and consequences of distracted driving can be seen throughout many platforms. Yet, the effectiveness of public service announcements on the general public is …show more content…
In reality, it can be argued that Public Service Announcements may only help short-term, before people revert to doing the same damaging behaviors as they did before, under the mentality that “it won’t happen to them”.
Being distracted while behind the wheel can be seen as one of the most perilous things a driver can do. According to distraction.gov, “In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers”. While Public Service Announcements pertaining to distracted driving aim to help resolve this issue, the actual effectiveness of these advertisements, and campaigns is very questionable. Although Public Service Announcements can leave an imprint in the people that view them, it can be seen that these “imprints” are only temporary before people revert to doing the same damaging behaviors as they did before, claiming that “it will not happen to them because it has not happened before.” According to Safety First Driving School, AT&T, a prominent campaigner against texting and driving conducted a survey among teenagers and found out that 97% of teenagers know that texting and driving is
Tim McGraw’s “Highway Don’t Care” is an unorthodox approach to educating the public about the dangers of distracted driving as opposed to the traditional classes or public service announcements. The music video for Tim McGraw's song, “Highway Don't Care”, can persuade the public to protect themselves against the dangers of driving while otherwise being preoccupied, and is effective in doing so. Education and consciousness about distracted driving can help the public obtain protection against the dangers of driving while otherwise being preoccupied. Distracted driving encompasses any activity that could redirect a person’s attention away from the primary focus of driving (Distracted Driving). Any type of distraction while driving ...
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 affected, 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).
There are approximately 5,400 deaths per year that are linked to distracted driving, and thousands more were injured. (U.S. Department of Labor). Those fatalities are our neighbors, close friends, and even family. How can we prevent this from being so prominent? How can we make the roads a safe place to be again? These questions have many different answers, but many prove to be un-effective. I believe that the best and only way to resolve this issue is to implement tougher laws on cell-phone use in vehicles, and educate our youth to the best of our abilities on the dangers of distracted driving.
Most people think of someone using their cell phone while driving when they hear distracted driving, but it it much more than that. Distracted driving is when someone who is behind the wheel get distracted by either taking their hands off the wheel or take their mind of driving, which can cause them to get into an accident (paragraph 2). Distracted driving is broken down into three main parts, manual distractions which is taking your hands off the steering wheel, visual distractions which is taking your center of attention off the road and cognitive distraction which is when your mind is not focused on driving and just starts drifting away (paragraph 3). Cell phone use is easily the biggest cause of distracted driving compared to eating, talking, and others because using your cell phone requires visual, manual and cognitive attention from the person behind the wheel and in a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, the amount of people who break the law and use a handheld device behind the wheel increases every single year. An estimated amount of more than, six hundred thousand people use their phone while driving. Distracted driving has quickly risen and developed in the past few years and is becoming an enormous problem. In a recent study, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), showed statistics of approximately three thousand, one hundred fifty
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 and driving are not alone done by teens but as well as adults. A survey by AT&T provided by USA TODAY has showed that almost half of all adults admit to texting while driving in comparison to the 43% of teenagers who text and drive. "Texting while driving is not just a teen problem," says John Ulczycki of the National Safety Council. This quote shows that not alone are teens committing this act but also teens. Showing that it should not be banned only for teens but also adults since this “epidemic” has no age.
There is a current social issue that is killing many people today: texting and driving. It is very tempting to immediately check your phone when it notifies you when you receive a text message. Ignoring the sound of your phone while driving is very important for safe driving. It is not only affecting one person, it also affects the area or people around you. I believe texting and driving should be illegal because there has been many accidents due to this distraction.
Have you ever been on a cell phone while driving or seen someone on his or her cell phone while driving? This is distracted driving at its finest. Whether you are looking at a text, changing radio stations, applying makeup, or anything else that takes your mind or eyes off the road is distracted driving. Distracted driving killed around 3,000 people in 2011 (Bauers). Car crashes are the leading cause of teenagers in the United States. If you don’t think you are distracted behind the wheel think again, many people think they aren’t distracted till something bad happens to them, like a crash, driving into a ditch, or running a red light and get a ticket for it. Distracted driving is a major problem and most people don’t know their distracted or what is a distraction to him or her.
Whether it is a text massage from love one or a bite of a sandwich, it is not so important than a human life. Distracted driving is an epidemic, so more tough laws should be implemented. The law for distracted driving should be tough just like a driving under influence. Distracting driving is a killer on the road, it should be banned because, it is the number one killer of the U.S. teenager in the road, not only the teenager in the road, but also cause a collision which is often fatal, and some incident were driver or one who involve on an accident became disable. Distraction is an involvement of driver where his or hers eye or mind are engage and performing on other things rather than driving, such as while talking on
Teens should be the last group of people to break this law. “Texting while driving makes crashes 23 times more likely”. As drivers become more experienced and older texting while driving increases. For example, “24 percent of 16 year olds said they text and drive, as opposed to the 58 percent of 18 year olds that don’t”. In general teens text much more than adults while driving. As a matter of fact, “82 percent of drivers between the ages of 16 to 24 have admitted to reading a text message while driving”. Not only are teens unexperienced but are trying to pull off the nearly impossible task while driving. Texting while driving is leading cause of death among teenagers passing the death rate of drinking and driving. Studies show that if this trend continues, more than 3,000 teenagers will die next year. For example if a driver sends a 5 second text message while moving 55 mph it is equal to driving a whole football field lengt...
In the last 5 years, the number of people who have watched safe driving PSA’s has been increasing due to the shocking content of the videos, and consequently, the word about safe driving is now spreading more than ever. From teens who’ve just received their permit, to parents who are always behind the wheel, PSA’s have a good impact on all those who have not yet been alerted about the dangers of distracted driving. To quickly summarize PSA’s: Public Service Announcements or PSA’s for short are the new method organizations and charities use to spread the word about public safety. The most shocking PSA’s are those that display the effects of distracted driving (due to the gory/shocking scenes).
Each day in the United States, over 8 people are killed and 1,161 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (Distracted Driving). There are a few different
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
One of the major cell phone companies AT&T, has had enormous success in launching its “It Can Wait” campaign.AT&T is using its campaign to show ttenagers the damaging effects of texting and driving and what it can do to everyone around. Texting and driving should be tied into the school systems learning guidelines as most teenagers think that texting and driving is not as big of a deal as it seems to be. In a study done by() results showed that thirteen percent of drivers age eighteen to twenty involved in car accidents admitted to being on their phones at the time of the crash. And seventy seven percent of teenagers say they are somewhat confident in that they can text and drive safely. This should be a a major eye opener to all members of society. The new generation has very little real world experience in how texting and driving can really affect them and their
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.