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The danger of distracted driving essay introduction
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According to distraction.gov, during 2013, 3,154 people were killed and 424,000 were injured in distracted driving accidents. For most people, this would scream that familiar “stop the texts, stop the wrecks” slogan. Sadly, not all distracted driving can be pinned on just texting or cellular device use. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines distracted driving as any time “when drivers divert their attention away from driving tasks to focus on another activity.” That means eating, drinking, fixing your makeup, combing your hair, reading your map, or simply changing the radio station can be counted towards distracted driving. Those things and many others, just like texting can cause wrecks. Everyone seems to shake …show more content…
We seem to think that our friends will be a lot more hurt if we don’t text them back than we will be if we get in a wreck. We don’t realize how changing the station away from the song that’s killing our ears could actually kill us. I’m a victim of faulty thinking too. Although I may try to stay away from texting and will refuse to take calls while driving, there are many other little things that could cause huge issues for my future. For example, I am absolutely terrible when it comes to eating on the road. Each day I have to rush from work to school, knowing that I’ve already missed lunch hour and may never get the chance to eat if I don’t eat now. But is that one extra bite of food worth it? Just before the Christmas break this year we had gotten a huge snow storm and the roads were covered with ice, slush, and very slippery snow. I had driven
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Fatality states that texting while driving causes nearly eleven teen deaths every day and 330,000 injuries per year. Almost 25 percent of all car accidents involve someone who was texting as they were driving; that is 1.3 million crashes. Texting while driving is the number one distraction for majority of drivers. Five seconds is the minimal amount of time a driver’s attention is taken from the road while using a cell phone. With that being said, if one is traveling at 55mph, five seconds is equal to driving the length of a football field without paying attention to the road.
Studies also show drunk driving is actually statistically safer than texting and driving. In my observation as my family was traveling to Wisconsin, I put tallies on my notebook to record the results of passing drivers. The results were surprising in that 1 out of 8 kids and 1 out of 5 adults in passing cars were distracted while driving. These statistics are actually scary to me because I will never know which one will make a mistake when I am around them on the road. The negative effects this problem causes death and serious injury to themselves and others. It also effects the distracted drivers by placing others around them in harm. As more people text on the roads the drivers will get too familiar texting and driving. According to most statistics, that’s when most mistakes happen. Phone and car companies allow this behavior to happen simultaneously. Phone companies are making their product easier to be distracted, as the technology is addicting to use for the consumers. The notifications from the phone distract most humans from accomplishing their tasks. The phone pings or sounds and the driver looks down. Car companies are now installing Wi-Fi in the newest cars of our generation. The WI-FI is active for all passengers. The distraction element is also active for
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
I rear ended a car due to the action of distracted driving. Distractions while driving can include anything from the use of social media on a cellular phone, messing with a navigation system, brushing one's hair, speaking to the passengers, or eating a big mac. In my situation, I was toying with the music in my car. I was dissatisfied with the current song so I decided to switch it up. I was at a stoplight so at the time I thought it would be okay for me to change the song. But within the timespan of a blink of an eye, my foot went off the brake and I rear-ended the car in front of me. I was following the car way too closely so by the time I realized my foot had wavered I already made a mark on the car ahead of me. I wanted to fist bump to
Talking on a phone or texting is acutely menacing and dangerous. The CDC states that more than half the deaths related to driving are caused by distracted driving such as Speaking or texting. This year a little more than 3,000 people were killed and about 400,000 were injured, writes the NHTSA. In their annual report it is also written that, It takes only seconds of distraction for a crash, and the likelihood of crashing while texting in increased by 23x, while for talking on a phone only expands the risk by only 2. Many people think that nothing will happen to them, and that texting and chatting on a phone is not dangerous, However accidents placed 4th for the number of kills last year, behind Heart Attacks, Respiratory Illnesses, and Cancers.
Distracted driving: the practice of driving a motor vehicle while engaged in another activity. Anything besides focusing on the road can be considered distracted driving. Most people would think that the only real distraction while driving is the use of a cell phone, however, that is entirely untrue. There are people that give the term, distracted driving, a whole new meaning. People do everything from fixing their makeup to shaving while driving in their cars. Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car crashes in the United States.
Distracted drivers, tired drivers, or undocumented drivers can lead to major accidents on highways in the United States. The Government has stepped in with a variety of regulations that have started to not only protect the driver, but the industry itself. “Each year about 5,000 fatal, 50,000 injuries, and 100,000 property-damage crashes involve large trucks resulting in social costs exceeding $32 billion.” (Pritchard, 2010) The regulation for safety measures that include electronic logging of hours, better training for new truck drivers, and better vehicle communication and maintenance technology, are improving the safety of drivers in the motor carrier industry. In July 2012, President Barack Obama signed into law the transportation bill Moving Ahead for
First and foremost, the risk of using a phone while driving is a big chance of an accident more than what the people think. According to the Harvard study “Texting while driving and other forms of distracted driving are responsible for more than 1 million crashes, 400,000 injuries, and 3,000 deaths in the U.S. each year—and those numbers are likely to in...
Distracted driving is a big deal. In 2014, the last year the federal government has statistics for, more than 431,000 people were injured and 3,179 killed in car accidents related to distracted driving.
Texting while driving is referred to as distracted driving. "Distracted driving continues to be the number one leading cause of car accidents in America. Talking on the phone, texting, eating, reading, grooming, and talking are just some of the ways drivers get distracted behind the wheel. Drivers who use a hand-held device are 4 times more likely to get into a car accident than drivers that pay attention to the road ahead. Individuals who text message while driving are 23 times more likely to get into an accident. Do not risk your safety or your life. Put everything down and pay attention to the road ahead. It is the single most important thing you can do today to reduce your risk of getting into a
In a survey that Dr. David Greenfield created it stated that ¾ of the people admitted that they usually check their phones while they are driving. Greenfield told Fox-news. “People drive more erratically when they’re texting than when they’re drinking and driving [and] we know that people are six times more likely to be in an accident if they’re texting and driving,” This is dangerous because if the people get into a big and serious accident they are not only hurting themselves but they are hurting the other people in the other car. They are taking away their dreams, and their goals in life all because they couldn’t keep away from their phones. One simple text can ruin your life
Texting and driving is the most distracting thing when you are driving. “I believe everything happens for a reason and the reason for my car accident is to let me know that I need to slow down and pay more attention.” (amanda) says Amanda after her first car accident while texting. Amanda died in a car accident one year later. She was texting and driving. When you are texting and driving your aren't paying attention to your surroundings. Amanda was distracted and crashed. Texting and driving is dangerous because not only can you hurt yourself, but you can hurt someone else.
According to Ian Mulgrew, a journalist/author from Canada, many accidents are blamed on distracted driving and most of the distractions are caused by cell phone usage (Mulgrew). This shows that accidents are being caused by texting and driving. A majority of people have busy lives that leaves them to get things done while on the road. Texting or using a cell phone while driving is very hazardous to yourself and the people surrounding you. Most people are against this action is because it causes many car accidents every year. Did you know that texting while driving is one of the longest eyes-off-the road time of distracted driving activities? According to DWI, text messaging makes a crash up to 23 times more likely. While other activities like, dialing, talking or listening or reaching for a device is less likely. While driving, adults and teenagers cannot resist the urge to pick up their cell phone and send a text or respond to one. When a
An Adesman stated that, “A person who is texting can be as impaired as a driver who is legally drunk.” A car traveling at 55mph covers the length of a football field in five seconds. The average person who sends out text messages while driving spends on average about eight seconds of looking down at their phone. Approximately 10% of driving time is spent outside of their original lane, by drifting while texting. “There's a difference between driving and texting. When you’re driving your eyes have to be open and on the road watching the cars around you, road signs, and traffic lights. Along with your mind on the road and destination. Which means you are multitasking. When your texting your eyes are on your cell phone screen and key pad. Along with your mind on what you’re going to say next. So how can you do both?” This quote was written by Johnathan Anthony Burkett who wrote the story Neglected but Undefeated. The chances of getting into a car crash are increased four times more than those who are not distracted. Texting while driving involves manual, visual, and the mental ability of a driver which makes messaging while driving one of the worst distractions.
National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. To illustrate, Deianerah Logan was described as a popular 17-year-old high-school senior with a promising future. Although a sheriff claimed that Deianerah’s “life was taken way too early,” the only person who apparently “took” it was Deianerah, who was texting when she crashed into a school bus and died. You must drive for yourself and everyone around you. In fact, texting while driving leads to a decrease in reaction time by 37 percent. A driver’s reaction time makes a defensive driver, it includes the following: recognizing the light has changed, deciding to continue or break, or applying break. Shockingly, texting drivers take their eyes off the road for each text an average of 4.6 seconds -- which at 55 mph, means they were driving the length of a football field without looking. 4 seconds if all it takes to take a life or two