The Risks of Distracted Driving

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Recommended: the use of cell phone while driving

At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. Distracted driving can be playing with the radio, texting, eating, drinking, applying makeup, or even just having a lot of people in the car at once. I, personally, despise people who continuously choose to partake in dangerous behaviors that cause distracted driving. They are creating risks of having a wreck and a chance of killing themselves or others on the road.
First of all, the use of cell phones, having your radio too loud, or just messing with your radio is probably some of the most common distractions while driving. For drivers fifteen to nineteen years old involved in fatal crashes, twenty-one percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, equivalent to driving fifty-five mph at the length of an entire football field. The amount of time it takes for sending or receiving a text is enough time to swerve into the other lane and hit someone. People messing with the radio take their eyes off the road for a few seconds or even if they don’t look off the road, they are still not paying full attention to the surrounding areas. People messing with the radio are just as much likely to have a wreck as a person who is using their cell phone. Not only could you be messing with your radio, but your radio could be too loud. If you have your radio too loud, you could miss a fire truck or ambulance behind you that is trying to get to a destination that may cause you to come up to a scene where a wreck has taken place. These acti...

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"What is Distracted Driving?." Distraction.gov. NHTSA; U.S. Department of Transportation. Web. 3 Dec 2013. <"What is Distracted Driving?." Distraction.gov. NHTSA; U.S. Department of Transportation. Web. 3 Dec 2013. . >.

Choney, Suzanne. "NBCNews Technology." Hands-free devices still cause driver distraction, says study. NBC News, 12 06 2013. Web. 4 Dec 2013. .

Peck, Anthony. "Playing with the Radio While Driving." Ezine Articles. N.p.. Web. 3 Dec 2013. .

Petre, Richard. "Just Drive." Driving Research and Statistics. Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin, 26 01 2009. Web. 3 Dec 2013. .

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