The Consequences of Using Electronic Devices While Driving

924 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on the dangers of distracted driving

To Ban or Not to Ban? In the past twenty years, our society has experienced a tremendous boom in the advancement of technology. From smartphones, to portable GPS units, to advanced radio systems, there is no doubt our society’s technological discoveries have grown rapidly. Often than not, when a nations technology advancements grow, there is usually a price that comes with it. Will it be safe for the consumer? Or more specifically, is it safe to use while the consumer is behind the wheel of a moving vehicle? Although some may disagree on prohibiting the use of electronic devices while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, many already support the ban on such devices while driving, because it poses high safety risks for not only the driver of that vehicle, but also to other drivers on the road. Let us focus our attention to three main devices we cannot travel without— our smartphones, our vehicles radio system, and our handy GPS units. It is not very uncommon to spot one, if not all, of these devices in somebody’s car nowadays. We rely heavily on our technologies to make it easier for us to communicate with our loved ones, to route us to our destination, and to keep us alert and entertained on our long road trips. Rarely, though, do we consider any of these acts to be a hazard to ourselves or to others. Although the radio systems in our cars and trucks are a great source to keep us entertained during our trips, they can be a huge safety hazard to not only ourselves, but also to other drivers sharing the road with us. When a driver takes his or her eyes off of the road to change the channel on their radio or to turn the volume dial up or down, they can veer into oncoming traffic or strike a pedestrian. Distracted driving is ... ... middle of paper ... ...drivers are not aware of the consequences of using electronic devices while behind the wheel of a vehicle. It is so important to educate ourselves and those around us of the dangers distracted driving can cause in such a short amount of time. I urge you and your loved ones to support the ban on using these devices while driving. Works Cited National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Distraction.Gov. U.S. Department of Transportation. n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. < http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/ facts-and-statistics.html >. Driver Distractions - Don’t Be a Statistic. Department of Motor Vehicles. Apr. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. < http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffdl28.htm >. “Attributable Risk Summary 2012 Estimates.” National Safety Council. 2012. PDF file.

Show More
Related

  • Cellular Abuse Behind the Wheel: the Dangers of Distracted Behavior

    1940 Words  | 4 Pages

    Young, Kristie L., John D. Lee, and Michael A. Regan. Driver Distraction: Theory, Effects, and Mitigation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2009. EBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Distracted While Driving

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Think Ahead While Behind the Wheel

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    Distracted driving is a prominent issue that continues to grow. Whether it is eating, using electronics, fixing hair or makeup, or adjusting the vehicle’s controls, it seems like everyone is guilty of taking his or her focus off the road at some point. How many times have we been enraged to see the driver next to or in front of us do something foolish such as cut people off or pay no attention to stoplights because they are engrossed in a telephone conversation? How many instances have we seen someone flying down the road performing a crazy task like reading a newspaper or eating a sandwich? On how many occasions have we done something like this?

    Read More

  • Distracted Driving: The Perils of Cell Phone Use

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    The number of cell phone users has grown drastically in recent years. In fact, many people have become so fond of these devices that they use their phones even while they should be directing their attention at the road. Based on a 2005 study conducted with Australian motorists, drivers who play around with their cell phones are four times more likely to become involved in a serious accident than those that were not distracted by a phone (“Cell Phone Use Distracts Drivers”). Obviously, then, people are jeopardizing their own well-being as well as the safety of others when they choose to drive while on the cell phone. With so many people owning cell phones these days, society can no longer ignore this problem, and people must act to address this

    Read More

  • Hands-Free Devices

    543 Words  | 2 Pages

    An analysis of using hands free devices reveals many consequences with drivers: having many mental and physical distractions, and are the number one causes of traffic accidents. Drivers who use hands free devices on the road can be hazards to their surroundings. The distractions involved in using the devices can lead to funnel vision or inattention blindness. Therefore using hands free devices is very dangerous, and can cause consequences to others also.

    Read More

  • Cell Phones and Driving: A Dangerous Combination

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    The invention of the cell phones have changed the lifestyle, and the way people communicate. Despite their effective way of communication, the use of a cell phones while driving results in negative effects to driving performance. Many statics show that driving while talking is a serious issue, because it is the cause of many accidents. The solution is to make cell phone use while driving illegal, and creating phone applications or preventions that will make it difficult to text while in a vehicle. Furthermore, operating a cell phone at the wheel is on the verge of being banned by law in every state, and some have already started this solution to the problem. Cell phones have now become a necessity but have also become a burdens to the human

    Read More

  • Devices While Driving

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reason for this is the Heisenberg Principle. Although mainly dealing with Quantum Mechanics, the Heisenberg Principle can apply to larger objects as well. Simply put, if you know how fast you're going exactly, you don't know where you are exactly and vice versa. People on their cellular devices have no idea how fast they're going, and if they do, they have no idea where they're going, so they could be going off a cliff for all they know, and that's a danger to them. The purpose of this law is to prevent car crashes that kill more teenagers than suicide and violence combined. Car-related accidents are by far the largest killer of teens in America. There really is no argument against this because nobody can multitask, it's been proven that your brain can only handle one thing at a time effectively, almost like a Pentium chip. There's no possible way that anyone is good enough at driving that they can do this and not cause an accident because, as I said earlier, the Reverse Tinkerbell Effect is in play; they just get lucky. So, with everything in mind, I firmly agree with the states' laws banning the use of hand-held cellular device while operating a motor vehicle. Distracted driving ruins lives

    Read More

  • Distracted Disaster

    2354 Words  | 5 Pages

    Distracted driving may seem like nothing out of the ordinary. Distracted driving has increasingly become a deadly threat to the safety of people traveling the roads. Jim P. Stimpson, Fernan...

    Read More

  • Cell Phones While Driving Research

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are so many things in life that we take for granted in our every day life. Have you ever though of how many of them needed to be tested to prove their safety? But then again, how many things have not been tested? One of which has become a big controversy in our society is the use of cell phones while operating a vehicle. This essay will focus specifically on talking on a cell phone while driving and how to safely and accurately get results. We will look at why it is important to have a control group during the experiment, how the subjects should be assigned, and the ways that we can make the only difference in the experiment is the use of a cell phone.

    Read More

  • Driven to Distraction by Technology

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    The use of technology makes our daily tasks easier, such as a better sense of direction while driving via a GPS, safety features in our cars such as Auto Drive and Auto Park. These technologies have made driving an easier and enjoyable experience as well as reducing our chances of getting into accidents. The research presented in the following article “Driven to Distraction [in car technology]” provided surprising conclusions. Professor John D Lee from the University of Iowa states the following issue: “Technology is changing very quickly. Many of these things coming into the car were not designed to be used in it.”(Edwards 8). He proves that there are a lot of in car technologies in today’s society that can demand our full attention without us even knowing, and can lead to tremendous consequences that can become dangerous distractions on the road. Satellite navigation (GPS) makes our lives easier because it can give us the correct directions to a desired address. This is unlike the past where the navigationally challenged would consider it a nightmare to drive to a new location.

    Read More

  • Cellphones Should Be Used While Driving Essay

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cell phones are the most important tool in our daily life in the modern world. Today society is a cell phone- controlled world, to some degree. And it is true that cell phones bring countless of convenience to us such as email, shopping, paying, and contacting people, emergency and so on. However, many people may not still realize the risk of using cell phones while driving in modern society. Traffic statistics show that most car accidents happened because people used cellphones during driving. Therefore, cellphones should never be used while driving. Using cellphones during driving results in accidents which can lead to death, can restricts driver’s attentions, and cause health problems.

    Read More

  • Using a Cell Phone While Driving Should be Banned

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today's society, technology revolves around our everyday lives. Cell phones, and handheld devices have taken over our fast paced world. Although there are some positive aspects to the growing opportunities in technology, there are still many negatives involved. One of the leading causes of death in the United States today, are car wrecks (Driving While Distracted: Statistics to know). Even though accidents appear to be out of our control, in reality, most car wrecks are caused by lack of attention to the road. To prevent anymore fatalities caused by distracted driving in the United States, cell phone usage while behind the wheel should be completely banned.

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Cell Phones

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    And the one of the most dangerous side of the cell phones is using it while driving. The research beginning to show that driving while simply talking on a cell phone has caused a lot of accidents in the following year. Based off of all the research in the past years shouldn’t cell phones be banned while driving? It can slows the reaction time. Study at the University of Utah that was published in the Psychological Science state that people who had conversations on any type of cell phone were twice as likely to hit the vehicle in front of them or hit brake and someone hit them from the

    Read More

  • Effects Of Reckless Driving

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main distraction of driving is cell phones. Most adults and teens will engage in texting and driving. Due to the major issue of texting and driving many campaigns have been launched, one being launched by AT&T “when it comes to texting and driving, it can wait.” This campaign has many drivers take the pledge to no longer use their phone when driving, there is an available app that will send out automatic messages to anybody that sends a while the individual is driving. When someone is driving at the rate of 55 miles per hour for only 4.6 seconds, it will equal the length of a football field, 100 yards. So, even stopping full vision from the road for a few seconds will still risk serious danger. Another cause of distracted driving is being exhausted or tired, doing so will cause a much slower reaction time. The slower reaction time causes many of the accidents that happen when people are tired. Another possibility is falling asleep behind the wheel even for a few seconds you could drift, or swerv into another lane and hit another car causing a major or fatal car accident. When taking driving classes, the students within the class will hear the saying “stay alert, stay alive.” The final major distraction of driving is eating and drinking. One of the problems of eating and drinking while driving is that it causes both a visual and manual distraction. When removing your eyes from the road many dangers will be

    Read More

  • Importance Of Road Safety Essay

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    Road safety is one of the most important aspects of daily living. Our vehicle is our main transportation from one place to another. The number of car and motorcycle accidents seem to be increasing because of the many distractions, the lack of safety measures and judgment to road conditions and weather. Not being cautious increases the chances of not only injuring ourselves but hurting others as well. On the road, you see people talking on their cell phones or texting, eating, putting makeup on, changing the radio station, reading or using your GPS while driving. These are all distractions that endanger drivers, passengers and bystanders safety. Safe driving involves off-road precautionary measures such as making sure tires are properly inflated, testing windshield wipers, getting regular oil changes and tune-ups and adjusting the mirrors. All of these actions can help prevent an accident. Unfortunately, not all of us decide to wear our seat belts when driving or turn signal ligh...

    Read More

More about The Consequences of Using Electronic Devices While Driving

Open Document