I would totally encourage people to stop texting while driving. For drivers 15-19 years of age involved in fatal crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones (Henry, Mark 2007). Some people think it is better for them to make a law about banning call phones while driving. Staying focused is the main thing. Taking your eyes off the road for 5 seconds will cause you to have a lethal crash.
Every second drivers across the United States are their cell phone. Talking, texting, sending emails and using applications risk a higher rate of a dangerous or deadly car crash. An estimated 1.6 million crashes occur each year due to the use of a cellular phone (Lim 197-212). Accidents like these can easily be prevented but many drivers put safety at risk by failing to obey laws against distracted driving. If drivers were prohibited to use cellphones, motor vehicle accidents would be reduced significantly.
Also stated directly from the NHTSA is that, texting while driving takes driver’s eyes off of the road for an “average of 4.6 seconds” which is equivalent of driving an entire football field blindfolded if you are travelling fifty five miles per hour. Fatalities from texting while driving is the leading cause of death in teenaged drivers, however, forty seven percent of adults admit that they also text while driving. In Professor Hanson’s article, a study indicates that seventy five percent of people agree that there should be restrictions on all ages of people that text while driving, not just teenagers.
Another is that individuals sending or reading text messages while driving are 23% more likely to be involved in a car crash. A crash can often happen within average of 3 seconds after the driver is distracted. About up to 80% of crashes happen when a driver is distracted. Texting while driving is 6 times more to cause a crash than driving when in
Hands-free cell phones may allow the driver to keep both hands on the wheel however, devices such as headsets or voice activated dialing led to longer dialing times causing the same level of driver distraction. Even though a study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety claims bans on handheld cell phones in many states seem to have had no impact on accident rates, drivers still should not use a hand held phone while driving in the car because car accidents associated with hand held phone use account for nearly three hundred deaths per year showing cell phone users are four times as likely to get into an automobile accident serious enough to cause injury. University of Utah psychologists have published a study which highlights drivers talking on handheld or hands-free cellular phones as being impaired on the same level as drunken drivers. In this study each of the tests subjects drove in a driving simulator four times; once each while completely undistracted, using a handheld device, using a hands-free device, and intoxicated with vodka and orange juice up to the legal limit of .08. The simulation had the participants following a ... ... middle of paper ... ...icleid=43812.
Did you know that most wrecks today are caused by distracted drivers? Although, using cell phones are banned while driving, people still use them illegally, causing many wrecks. There are many ways to be considered as a distracted driver, such as texting, using a cell phone, talking to others in the car, grooming, watching a video, adjusting car settings, eating and/or drinking, and reading maps or books. How has texting impacted the number of wrecks in the United States? “The government says that 3,092 people died in one year in “distractions- affected” crashes, a newly refined measurement meant to tally effect of texting, phoning or simply answering a cell while driving.
Dangers of Driving While Texting At any given moment, one in five drivers around are texting on their phone while driving(Scholastic Action 2010). Cell phones have created a huge problem in America. Nearly 100 percent of vehicles have a cell phone in the car while driving, often times in arms reach. Crashes caused by distracted drives kill thousands of innocent people every year. In todays society Americans cannot go without a cell phone for several minutes.
Among older drivers, only dialing a cell phone increased the chances of a crash or near miss, however, that study began before texting became so common, so researchers don't know whether it is as dangerous for them as it is for teens. Minnesota collision claims per 100 insured vehicle years, by month before and after texting law for all drivers, compared with Iowa and Wisconsin (Russ). One month before the law was to take effect Minnesota took data from crashes that ... ... middle of paper ... ...o texting and driving and distracted driving. work cited F, Alan. “Texting while driving now the leading cause of teen death in the U.S.” Phonearena.
In The Washington Post, author Katherine Shaver stated that “A 2013 Ohio State University study found that the number of injuries treated in 100 emergency rooms nationwide related to pedestrians using cellphones…The study found people ages 16 to 25 were most likely to be hit while distracted. Abc News calls them “Petextrians.” In addition, designated driver also can be distracted with their smart phones. Commercials like AT&T, have warned and tried to decrease the amount of death cause by texting and drive. They would display a terrible accident for the purpose of showing the viewers the consequence of a distracted driver. The most common quote that AT&T repeatedly uses is, “It can wait.” What pedestrians and driver are doing is the equivalent of what a student do in class.
This shows that that texting while driving is a widespread epidemic. When a survey asked teenagers whether they text and drive,“seventy five percent of teens admitted to texting while driving” (7).Distracted driving causes seventy-eight percent of car crashes(Bernstein). “No distraction causes as high of a risk of an accident as texting while driving” (Gardner). Also with these statistics, it is not hard to understand why accidents in teenagers that are driving have risen. The Bluetooth capability in cars gives a driver a hands-free way to talk on the phone, but is still not completely safe (8).