Texting and Driving versus Drunk Driving It’s a Friday afternoon and you’re driving to the grocery store after work to pick up a pizza to eat later for dinner. All of your weekend plans are on your mind as you make a right turn. You hear your phone go off and quickly unlock your phone to see what plans are happening tonight. Little do you know you won’t have any plans for this weekend because the text you are about to send will end your life. This might sound harsh but this is exactly how all texting and driving stories go. Texting while driving causes a huge 1,600,000 accidents per year (Distracted Driving), and 11 teens die every day from these accidents. It’s highly likely that while you read this paper someone just got into an accident …show more content…
When you hear someone who got into an accident because they drove drunk, you automatically think, “oh god, they’re in trouble”. Depending on which state you are in you can receive fines starting at $1000 dollars, a dui and even prison time. It gets even worse if someone is killed in the accident. Some states will charge you with manslaughter, or even a second degree murder charge. Pretty much if you kill someone while you are behind the wheel while intoxicated, you are screwed. There’s no easy way to get out of it. But what about the charges for texting while driving? There’s no doubt that texting and driving can cause similar accidents like drunk driving, but the punishments are no where near close. Texting while driving tickets can range from $20 to $500 dollars and can also result in misdemeanor charges (Texting While Driving Laws). I found a news article about a young girl who killed someone while texting and the charges she got, or didn’t get were unbelievable. First of all, the charges were presumed so this means she is innocent until proven guilty and if she’s not proven guilty she only faces 1 year in jail and a $200 dollar fine. This is crazy compared to the thousand dollar fines and multiple years of jail time for killing someone on the road while intoxicated. The worst part about the article was …show more content…
Many people have admitted to being in a car while someone was texting but how many people have you heard of being in a car while the driver was either intoxicated or on any other drug? The number of people who have been in a car with the driver under the influence is way smaller because when someone is in a car with an under the influence driver, they usually don’t make it out alive. I would way rather be in a car when the driver sends a quick text, rather than be in a car where the driver is so intoxicated they barely know where they are. The media puts such a bad name on texting and driving, which is good, but they never compare texting and driving to being intoxicated and driving. Being under the influence is a totally different mindset from sending a text. When you are under the influence of any drug, you have impaired vision, judgment and sense of direction. You need all of these things when driving. When someone sends a text while driving, they still have all of these things, it’s just that for a few seconds their eyes are off the road. I’m not trying to say texting and driving is a good thing, it’s just that things could be worse. Yes, there is an increase of accidents involving texting and driving, but it’s more likely that teens, or even adults driving home from a party on a Saturday night are more likely
The Harvard Center of Risk Analysis preformed a study, they studied the road and people who text while they drive. Results show that texting behind the wheel causes 330,000 injuries and 2,600 deaths a year. People who talk or text on the phone are just as impaired or even more impaired as a drunk driver. A study was performed at the University of Utah, it shows that the participants crashed when they were texting while driving but when they were intoxicated, they did not crash. This shows that texting while driving takes your focus off of the road and into the conversation you are having on the phone. Also, the University of Utah has proven that hand free devices do not make driving any safer. But, driving with passengers and talking to them makes drivers safer. Passengers help inform drivers of possible risks on the
The cell phone provider known as AT&T has produced several commercials to show the dangers of texting and driving. These are designed to grab people’s attention and to touch them in a small place in there heart to the point that they no longer feel the need to pick up their phone in the car. They stress over and over the dangers of reading just one text. There have even been safety precautions placed in teens vehicles that record them as well as the road while they are driving to catch any of this distracted behavior. As Americans have seen an increase in the amount of texting and driving there have been several of the 50 states that have put laws in place to help try and put a reduction on the amount of fatalities. The devastating part about this kind of distraction is that nearly every person that has owned a cell phone has picked it up at some point while they are driving to make a phone call or send a quick text. They have seen the commercials and they know the hurt that it has caused many families loosing someone they love, but we still to do it anyways. It’s so easy to tell yourself “It’s just one quick text, I will be fine.” At some point we need to realize this is not
Texting while driving is national growing trend, and it is quickly becoming one of the country’s top killers. Most drivers think they can manage to text and drive and still stay safe on the roads; however, the numbers do not lie! According to the National Safety Council, 1,600,000 accidents per year are caused by someone who was texting and driving. Laws and penalties for this act are too lax, and tougher laws should be enforced.
Car crashes due to texting while driving is a widespread epidemic that has taken our nation by storm for more than a decade ago. People may think they can safely write text messages on their phone while driving, or just do not think there is any real risk in the act does not matter. Texting while driving must be done away with at all costs. To achieve this fit, our government must take action by adding uniformity to the laws and impose punishments on the offenders. Similarly, it is also important that the government provides sufficient educational programs. This will help spread the message about the dangers of tapping the phone’s keyboard while behind the wheel.
“It’s the number one killer of teens” (Clark, 2013). A war is waging on throughout the streets of America. Everyday people risk their lives by driving. The enemy? Texting while driving. It is the act of composing, sending, or reading text messages while behind the wheels of a running vehicle. Driving under this influence is extremely careless and dangerous to others and is likely to cause accidents resulting in injuries or deaths. This problem is on the rise because the only ones with the power to make an impact against ending this war are law makers and law enforcement. The truth of the matter is law officials are losing the battle against people sending text messages while driving a car on the road. Law officials are mulling over the situation at hand, not doing enough to fight against the selfish crime. The laws regarding texting and driving are not fierce enough and law enforcement does not successfully apprehend the issue amongst drivers. “A Triple A study that found 9 out of 10 of its Arizona members want a texting and driving ban, but for the last 6 years, state lawmakers have rejected the bans” (Monier, 2013). Citizens desire more protection against this selfless crime, and more needs to be done. Law officials need to create laws regarding texting and driving including harsh penalties that would prove effective and then strictly enforce those laws on the streets because it is their sworn oath and duty to protect the citizens they represent from this unhandled danger.
Those that think it is ok to text and drive do not realize how much harm, and danger they are putting their lives at, and the lives of others that are on the road as well. Even if one thinks that they are a good enough driver to be on their phone while they drive, still are not guaranteed that they will not get in an accident. No matter how much someone has been driving, or how good they are does not mean they should be using their phones, because just by taking a glance at their phone for a second could instantly change their lives, if they were to ever get in a car crash, or hurt another human
One simple text message could ruin your future, the life of your loved ones, or even a complete stranger in a matter of a moment. As the popularity of technology, social media, and cellphones increases, so does distracted driving. In 2016, many people believe texting and driving is a quick and convenient way to communicate, but don’t realize the dangers it involves, especially when done behind the wheel. The increased number of car accidents over the last several years is heavily linked to texting while driving, and it is important to spread awareness so the likelihood that this will happen will decrease. There are many different perspectives on using cell phones and other tech devices while driving, and each of the following articles provides an argument that is supported with
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
That is equivalent to downing four beers and then getting behind the wheel.”. Texting while driving is considered to be the highest form of distracted driving. In 2002 2,600 people died from distracted drivers and in 2011 3,331 this number has gone up by 22% in the last 9 years. In 2002 drunk driving accidents have killed 12,405 people but by 2011 that number has decreased by 25% to 9,296. This shows that texting while driving is on its way up and may continue to get worse. The National Highway & Transportation Administration (NHTSA) declares that 1.6 millions accents are caused by texting and driving every year, thats almost 25% of all automobile accidents (Masters).We already know that texting increases chance in an accident, well so does dialing by 2.8%. Also so does talking and listening at 1.3% and reaching for your cell phone at 1.4% (Texting). On November 28, 2010 Nina Todd was leaving her mother house with her two sons, when Karli Brown struck her car head on. In result of the accident Nina’s
Over 90 percent of frequent drivers in an AT&T-sponsored survey said they know texting and driving is dangerous -- but that doesn’t stop them from doing it. “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,
Teenagers and adults day after day suffer from the wrath of texting and driving. The National Highway Traffic Administration reported that in “2010, texting and driving was the cause of eighteen percent of all fatal crashes with 3,092 people killed. Texting and driving also resulted in crashes that cause 416,000 people being wounded” (Par. 6). Cell phone use in cars starts to become an issue when the number one driving distraction reported by teen and young adult drivers is texting and driving. Texting and driving is not only done by teenagers and young adults, but almost everyone in the United States texts messages. State governments, police officers and other officials need to make texting and driving illegal in all fifty
Even though texting and driving is against the law, men and women of all ages are doing it on a regular basis. Statistically speaking, 23% of car accidents, which was about 1.3 million, involved cell phones in 2011 (“Texting and Driving..”). According to Edgar Snyder and Associates Law Firm out of Western Pennsylvania, “In 2011, 3,331 people were killed and 387,000 people were injured in accidents involving a distracted driver.” Along with those stats, and according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “texting and driving kills 11 teens each day” (“Texting and Cell Phone..”). These numbers show how fatally dangerous texting and driving can be. As mentioned earlier, it is illegal, so humans shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. However, if someone gets caught, they could be looking at a ticket costing about, 135 dollars, not including the additional base fine, surcharge and the law library fee (“Texting and Driving, Challenges..”). If a person chooses to text and drive and...
Texting and driving is an example of a behavior that can be considered a criminal behavior. Texting and driving usually impacts the younger generations and can sometimes be encouraged by the younger population. If a teen or young adult knows a person is driving and continues to text the person while driving, they are tempting the driver even more to divert their attention to the texts instead of driving. Texting and driving is a serious topic, one of my classmates rolled and totaled her car because she was texting and driving. She was, however, very lucky to have only broken her nose. She ended up having restrictions on her license, and learned that texting friends can wait because it is important to focus on the road. This isn’t the only incident
It is taken very seriously by authorities and they will take anybody to jail for driving under the influence if they get a chance. The authorities refer to this charge as a DUI which means “driving under the influence” or DWI which means “driving while intoxicated” (Driving Laws). These laws are taken very serious by all the states and thousands and thousands of people are arrested a year for DUI’s. In 2013, there were 1.16 million DUI arrest and every two minutes there is a DUI accident and every sixty minutes there is a DUI accident where someone dies (Arrests across America (DUI). Drinking and driving is not worth the reward, nothing good comes out of drinking and driving and it never will. There is a reason why it is against the law. There is also the risk of putting other people life in danger when people are driving under the influence. They could wreck and kill others innocent people, who were just minding their own business. If you have a wreck with another person then it is going to be hard to pay all the finds and also get out of jail on bond because of the stuff that will have to be done. If there is a wreck with a drunk person that involves other person dying then the person that was driving under the influence could be charged with man slaughter and be sentenced to life in prison. It is not worth it at all. It just goes to show that people do not care for others except for themselves because they are driving while not in the right mind set. It only takes one little mistake that could change not only their life forever, but also the person they had an accident
What seems worse, texting while driving or driving drunk? We all believe drunk driving has the most consequences because we hear about it all the time. Adults and schools are constantly preaching “Don’t drink and drive” to young teenagers. What they do not praise as much is “Don’t text and drive”. Texting and driving is six times more likely to cause a car accident than drunk driving. The majority of people are for the laws, but are still guilty of distracted driving. This type of driving is more common with the younger generations because phones are our lives nowadays. Teens have the least amount of experience behind the wheel and are the most susceptible to accidents. Not a lot of experience and texting is one of the ways teenagers get into