Author; Matt Sundeen
Wireless telecommunication technologies are rapidly becoming a significant concern in regard to highway safety. Almost 90 million people subscribe to wireless telephone services, and 85 percent of those subscribers use their phones while driving to conduct business, report emergencies, stay in touch with loved ones, call for assistance, and report aggressive or drunk drivers.
It's not just phones on the road anymore. In 1999, two major auto manufacturers -General Motors and Ford- formed agreements with telecommunications companies that will enhance wireless features in even more vehicles. Future cars will provide drivers with concierge services, web-based information, online e-mail capabilities, CD-ROM access, on-screen and audio navigation technology, and a variety of other information and entertainment services.
Telecommunications companies say that new technology in cars not only will improve commerce but highway safety as well. Already, an estimated 98,000 emergency calls are placed by cell phone users each day, and billions of dollars of business may be transacted by drivers each year. Studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine and by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have concluded that cellular phones often reduce emergency response times and actually save lives. New technology also may make it easier for people to drive more safely on the road.
State policymakers, however, must weigh the promises of wireless technology in cars against the growing evidence of the potential dangers. The 1997 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that the distraction caused by phone use in motor vehicles quadrupled the risk of a collision during the brief period of a call, a rate equivalent to the impairment caused by legal intoxication. Other studies - conducted in the United States as well as in Great Britain and Japan - have similarly concluded that speaking on mobile phones, even if they are hands-free, can make drivers a risk on the road. The basic conclusion of these studies is that the distraction of the call, not the actual act of dialing, impairs a driver's ability to safely operate the vehicle.
Cell phones have been suspect in numerous motor vehicle crashes across the country. In 1999, a driver who was also using a cell phone killed a 2-year-old girl in Pennsylvania. Another driver, distracted by a cell phone, hit and killed a state corrections officer in North Carolina. This year, a 5-year-old Pennsylvania girl suffered severe head injuries in a crash caused by a driver who was distracted by a mobile phone.
In the article, Cell Phones Induced Driver Distraction, scientists, David Strayer and Frank Drews, discussed multiple studies they conducted to explore the relationship between cell phone conversations and driving. Their studies explored the hypothesis that “cell- phone conversations impair driving by inducing a form of inattention blindness in which drivers fail to see objects in their driving environment when they are talking on a cell phone” (Strayer & Drews, 2007). The studies explored different aspects of driver distractions such as; recognition of objects, relevance of objects, reaction times, and comparison of two different talking related tasks. Each study used a driving simulation to imitate a real-life driving experience. Each study
The use of cellphones has become more popular with every passing year, causing many people to become physically and emotionally attached to their cellphones. American society today is constantly on the phone, from texting, to calling, to surfing the web, to even taking pictures; people seem to never put their phones down. Since the use of cells phones is skyrocketing, it has brought up an issue that the use of these devices while behind the wheel increases accidents (Hahn and Preiger par. 1). People don’t realize how distracting a cellphone can really be. Distracted driving is defined as, “driving a vehicle while engaging in an activity that has the potential to distract the driver from the task of driving”(dictionary. reference.com). Almost everyone owns a cellphone today, causing distracted driving to become a big issue (Driven to Distraction par. 1). When a driver is distracted from driving they are unaware of the things happening in their driving environment. Using a cellphone while driving causes drivers to become distracted from driving physically, visually, cognitively and from their auditory senses.
This paper examines the dangers that arise when cell phones are used at the same time as operating a vehicle. The paper will explore the following question of why this is a problem and why the research is important. The variables investigated are the use of cell phones while driving, whether speaking or texting, and the accidents and fatalities caused from the distraction. Data of the accidents and fatalities caused by drivers distracted by their cells phones is stated to research and further explores the age group and gender of the people involved into the accidents to uncover patterns. Possible outcomes of the implementation of laws prohibiting cell phone use while driving are discussed as well as the sampling measures used to survey and research the variables.
This proves that there needs to be more done in order to educate drivers of how hands free technology is actually very dangerous; this danger is referred to as "inattention blindness" and can lead to drivers missing items such as stop signs and pedestrians ("Tech to Prevent Distracted Driving").This shows that hands free technology is not the answer to solving this problem. Even though many states have banned the use of phones while driving, this is not
According to a research conducted in 2002 by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, roughly 2,600 people die and another 330,000 are injured every year as a result of using cell phone while driving. Using a cell phone, for any reason, while driving is a frequent conflict on the road. Findings from the Edgar Snyder & Associates shows that 56% of teens use their cellphone while behind the wheel. With such a high percentage of cell phone usage while driving, not even the short trip to that market is safe anymore. Many texting and driving accidents are associated with a rising number of motor vehicle crashes ending in orthopaedic trauma injuries.
Cell phones now has been known to kill thousands of people. Lately there has not been a day where there is no accident, death or injury due to someone driving while using their cell phone. On May 17th, 2013, fox 4 news “teen dies in accident while texting”. Fox9.com “police: Byron teen killed in crash on first day of school was texting”. CBS 6 news “Girl’s heartbreaking story will make you think twice before texting while driving”. These were just 3 examples of how texting and driving could be so dangerous, yet we chose to ignore it. Over the past years there have been way too many innocent people that are losing their lives due to the reckless drivers that are around. Drivers must give a 100% of their attention to the road. We are living in an era where technology has been taking over our
According to a report made by the National Safety Council, cell phone usage leads up to about 1.6 million vehicle collision yearly. Nearly 200,000 of those accidents are provoked by
Do most people care to think about what could go wrong with hands free driving? Unfortunately, most people don't even consider the hand free technology in the cars they drive. The technology has become so commonplace that people have become accustomed to it in their everyday lives. While these technologies would appear to make driving safer, if often has the opposite effect. Studies show that using hands free technology can be just as dangerous as manually doing it yourself. While most people would assume that hands free technology, devices, and cars would make driving safer, there are many aspects of the technology that might make one think otherwise.
As usual, you are fifteen minutes late to volleyball practice which is clear across town. You grab your bag and run out to your new car your parents just bought you. As you begin to pull out of your driveway your phone starts playing your favorite song by Cardi B. You look down to see you received a text from your best friend who is currently having problems with her boyfriend. Without thinking, you call her right away as you drive to practice. How safe is it to be talking on the phone while driving? Over the last decade, the use of cell phones has been on the rise. Along with this, driving a car and using a cell phone at the same time has also seen an increase among individuals. In a series of experiments conducted by Strayer and Johnston, they explore the extent to which a conversation on a hands-free or hand-held cell phone interferes with an individual’s driving.
As the years pass, cell phones are now part of people lives. Today, there are all types of cellular devices in the United States. The number of users with a phone are more than a billion. Cell phones are very distractive and cause many accidents till this day. Many deaths are caused from those who are on their cell phones constantly.
Have you ever caught yourself on your phone while driving? Around 1.6 million accidents are caused because of cell phone use behind the wheel. Society has become an age of technology, however it has become increasingly dangerous to be on the road with the increase of cell phone use while driving. Although using a cell phone at the same time while driving saves times, it distracts the driver and may cause accidents. Cell phones are very beneficial but when it comes to driving, it can cause harm or even take away someone’s life.
Drivers using their cell phones while driving are less concentrated on the road. Using yourself phone not just only reduce your attention on the road but also reduced the attention on the speed, reaction time, and avoiding hazards on the road. Distracted drivers cause fatal accidents every day. However, there are still no laws to prevent fatal accidents.
Some cell phone distracted drivers are not so lucky when it comes to driving safely. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Distracted driving kill’s nine people and injures hundreds of others on a daily basis” (Sidibe). People seem to know that texting while driving is dangerous, but people still tend to ignore how dangerous it really is. “Using cell phones while driving is risky”.
Although it is arguable that phone calls can cause a distraction and decrease the safety of a driver, if used responsibly and especially with bluetooth, cellphones can provide a safe and convenient way of communicating to others on the road. Finally, cellphones nowadays feature many driving apps that inform drivers with information they might find useful while driving. An example of this useful information is if there is an accident at a certain point on a highway, traffic routes and alternative routes to get places faster, and potholes
In fact, according to the National Safety Council, cell phone use and driving results in 1.6 million crashes yearly. (“Texting and Driving Accident Statistics”). This is over a million crashes that were caused just from using your cell phone and driving at the same time, therefore making the road more dangerous and putting innocent one’s lives at risk. Likewise, cell phone use and driving has proved to be correlated with deadly and serious car crashes. According to Woody (2015), more than a quarter of vehicle collisions are shown to be due to the driving using his or her cell phone.