In America, one of the biggest issues with today’s drivers is texting and driving. Half of the individuals included are barely old enough to drive. There have been far too many fatalities from distracted drivers. Individuals everywhere don’t see anything wrong with it, but they’re terribly mistaken. One in four car accidents are the result of texting and driving. Plenty of attempts have been made to try and find an end to it, but many of those attempts have failed. What can be done in order to stop texting while driving? Messages through ads and special speakers will only go so far. Many states have already created laws, but they often cause people to hide their phones while driving which could potentially make it more dangerous. Much research …show more content…
Even though texting while driving is illegal in 46 states, it’s still being done. Texting while driving is actually six times more likely to cause an accident than drinking while driving. It makes an accident up to twenty-three times more likely to happen. Those who text and drive spend nearly 10% of their time driving outside of the lines. The scary thing is that 77% of young adults are either a little or extremely confident that they can safely text and drive, while another 50% claim it’s easy to do. Last year, 1.3 million accidents were a result of texting while driving. There are way too many risks that come along with it. According to Mary Madden and Amanda Lenhart (2009), “ forty percent of teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that had put themselves or others in danger ” Texting is one of the most distracting things that can be done while driving. When texting, most people have their eyes off the road for at least five seconds. So much can happen during those five seconds. A car or pedestrian can come out of nowhere, or a curve or bridge can appear. The roads are entirely too unpredictable for texting and driving. So many parents, sons, daughters, siblings, wives, husbands, and friends have been lost due to texting and driving. Even drivers who are paying attention have an increased chance of being in an accident because …show more content…
Liz Marks of Maryland was fortunate enough to walk away from a wreck in 2012. From the words of Liz (2014), “I ignored those warnings about texting and driving because everyone else was doing it, I thought it was okay, I thought I was invincible. But clearly, I was completely wrong.” Liz Marks was in a terrible accident in 2012 that was caused by looking at a text from her mom while driving. Although she lived, she’s now blind in one eye, she has lost her sense of smell, she can’t produce tears, and she can’t fall asleep naturally. Texting while driving is one of the biggest causes of accidents in America. Many people don’t care that they’re putting theirs and everyone else’s lives at risk. The statistics are straightforward, yet many still don’t listen. The dangers of texting and driving outweigh the benefits. The reply can always wait. Even though many attempts at ending texting while driving have been made, still people all over the country are doing it every single day. The only way to end it is for phones to automatically shut down while driving because people can easily get around everything else. No message is worth dying over. If a reply must be made, people can always pull over in order to save a life. Texting while driving has become somewhat of a trend to young individuals when they haven’t even been experienced drivers for very long. If a country-wide solution cannot be made, parents
Over the past two decades the use of cell phones has grown significantly and statistic from the past two years have proven that driving while on the phone or texting is becoming one of the leading causes of traffic accidents today. In 2011, a survey of more than 2800 American adults revealed that even thought they know that using a cell phone or texting while driving is distracting, they do it anyway, and teens surveyed admit that texting while driving is their number one distraction. "Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% ...
This article mainly focuses on the solution for texting while driving. While the majority of people will admit that texting while driving is dangerous, they will still participate in the act. With the auto industry getting more and more advanced, it starts to create more opportunities for drivers to get distracted. For a long time, we have had many of things that can be a distraction. What is going to help people become less distracted drivers? Parents already have the option to download an app for their kids that notify the parents when their child is going over a certain speed
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 owns 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 losing someone they love, but we still 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 ok.
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.
One solutions to prevent distracted driving is to Silence the phone or device while driving to avoid temptations to respond to a text or call. Even though the phone may be on silent, you will still be able to see the phone light up when someone calls or texts you. Another solution to prevent distracted driving would be to lock the drivers phone with a passphrase that's a reminder not to text or call when behind the wheel, but unfortunately this solution is also easy to get around by simply putting in the passcode. The next solution to prevent distracted driving would be to put the device in the trunk of the car so there is absolutely no way to get distracted from anything other than the radio. The final solution that a driver can use to prevent themselves from texting behind the wheel would be to use distracted driving prevention technology. Sadly, there have been no major breakthroughs with technology in cars, or cell phone apps that can prevent people from looking at their phones while they are driving. The only way teens can learn from texting while driving as of right now is by receiving tickets, driver’s license points, and criminal
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
One day Chandler Gerber 23, of Bluffton collided with an Amish buggy back in April of 2012. A three year old boy and a five year old girl were killed. A 17 year old boy who was in critical condition died several days later. Chandler was sending a text that said “ I love you” to his wife when he caused the accident. Drivers who were texting were 23.2 times more likely to crash to those who weren’t texting (Cell Phones and Texting). The increasing amount of crashes caused from texting and driving and growing and becoming more of a problem. Distracted driving is an increasing problem in the United States resulting in many accidents, but a solution to the problem would be banning cellphones while driving.
Texting and driving is a deadly issue in today 's generation. Using our cellphones while driving is a damaging habit among teens and adults. This habit caused many catastrophic accidents and deaths. Texting while driving has made the roads unsafe for other drivers. Many states recognize the immense threat resulting from texting and driving and have placed a ban on this epidemic. While many people realize texting and driving is hazardous others believe that the ban is useless and not strong enough of a solution.
When people hear their phone ding, they immediately have the urge to see what is going on. “Seventy-seven percent of teens say they are more than confident”, and they think they are able to safely text while driving. “Fifty-five percent of young adult drivers say it is really easy to text and drive”(stoptextsstopwrecks.org), and they do not understand why it is such a big problem to do so. Teenagers are not the only ones who take part in the act of texting and driving, many teens have said they see their parents do it. Studies show that “5 seconds is the minimal amount of time your attention is taken away from the road when you 're texting and driving”(DWI:Driving While Intexticated). Say a person is traveling at fifty-five miles per hour, the five seconds they take to look at their phone is equal to driving the length of a football field without looking at the road. If the driver in front of the texter comes to an emergency stop, and they are not paying attention, he or she will have caused an accident because they were paying attention to a phone. Texting while driving causes about 1,600,000 accidents and 330,000 injuries per year. The accidents, injuries, and deaths are all a result of someone feeling the need to take their focus off the road, and place it on seeing what their friend texted
“Hey guys look no hands”, is not something a family member or a friend never wants to hear from a friend or a loved one in a text message especially while that person is driving. The use of a cellphone is considered a necessity now a day among drivers that are currently on the road. People have to be socially connected with their friends all the time.
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.
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...
Now that you know how texting and driving is affecting our nation, let’s talk about different ways to prevent it from causing deaths.
One of the major cell phone companies AT&T, has had enormous success in launching its “It Can Wait” campaign.AT&T is using its campaign to show ttenagers the damaging effects of texting and driving and what it can do to everyone around. Texting and driving should be tied into the school systems learning guidelines as most teenagers think that texting and driving is not as big of a deal as it seems to be. In a study done by() results showed that thirteen percent of drivers age eighteen to twenty involved in car accidents admitted to being on their phones at the time of the crash. And seventy seven percent of teenagers say they are somewhat confident in that they can text and drive safely. This should be a a major eye opener to all members of society. The new generation has very little real world experience in how texting and driving can really affect them and their
Texting while driving is a widespread epidemic in the United States that has unfavorable effects on our society.“Driving while texting is the standard wording used for traffic violations” (Bernstein). It causes many people to be distracted which can lead to accidents. “Eighty-nine percent of people own a cell phone” (Gardner). That is a plethora of people that are at risk of texting while driving. Also, texting has increased by ten times in three years(Bernstein). “The risk of a crash for those who are texting is twenty-three point two times greater than those who are not” (Gardner).Driving drunk only makes a person seven times more likely to be in a crash (Bernstein). This means texting while driving is three times more dangerous than driving intoxicated. One in five drivers admits to texting while driving(Gardner). 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). Also, only 1 out of 3 US cars sold in 2009 had this feature. New systems are being developed that will use Bluetooth as well a global positioning technology to allow parents to monitor cell phone use and texting while driving (10).