Distracted Driving: A Menace to Safety Essay

In order to text a person has to visually see the message that is sent. The driver has to physically respond to the message.It may be something in the messages that upset the drivers which effects their ability to drive.Its hard to drive when a person doesnt have a clear mind or having angry thoughts. Cell phones are not the only distractions their is when it comes to driving. When every there an accident people stop traffic just to be nosey and see what is going on. Stopping to watch other accidents can cause another accident because everyone's mind is not on the road its on the accident scene.A driver can still be focused on the road and get into a accident due to the others drives around them. Being distracted can cause someone their life just because another driver's attention was on something

They also claim that the distraction is not any worse than changing a radio station or talking to someone. Neither one of these things are illegal to do while operating a motor vehicle. Therefore, texting should not be illegal. There is also the argument that if the phone is held up to the windshield level, a driver may still have some attention on the roadway and any impending dangers that it presents. While all these points are true and valid, my argument against them is that it adding more distraction than what is already considered normal. As I stated previously, most of us drive with one hand, which already creates an issue. When you add all these other things we do that are not illegal such as changing the radio station, looking for things, and even applying make-up, it creates an atmosphere of nearly total inattention to the most important part of operating a motor vehicle. That is simply keeping both your hands on the steering wheel and your eyes on the

Distracted driving is very dangerous to everyone on the road ways.  Distracted driving is engaging in non-driving activities that distracts the driver from the primary task of driving (SIRS).  In 2015, 3,477 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver (CDC).  Each year about 421,000 people are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver (Edgar Snyder).   Drivers would not be texting if their message was not very important.   Distracted driving should be illegal and security devices in vehicles should be implemented in order to save lives.

In this article “Distracted Driving”, many distractions are mentioned other than just cell phone usage, such as changing the radio station or driving with kids in the back seat. It is stated that the dangers from distracted driving are because of the decrease in brain function and inability to pay full attention to the road. These practices lead to wrecks and in many cases death.

Distracted driving has been a problem for a long time. It has grown in the recent years because technology has become mobile and smaller. Ashley Gaddis from Counterpoint says, “A 2013 poll conducted by AT&T found that half of commuters admitted to texting while driving” she also says, “By 2007, one in six fatal car crashes were caused by a distracted driver, resulting in over 5,900 deaths” (n.pag.). Distracted driving can be texting while driving or talking on the phone while you are driving. There are some opposers that think that hands free technology is a good way to avoid distracted driving. Geoff Tyler states that, “Hands free devices that are suitable for use in the car can make holding a phone conversation as close as technologically possible to holding a conversation with a passenger” (n.pag.). Even though hands free technology helps you talk and text easier, you still have to take your eyes of the road to use it.

Distracted driving in America is not a trivial issue in today's society. On average, eight people are killed and one thousand one hundred sixty one people are injured due to accidents involving distracted drivers, particularly due to texting. Distracted driving is a huge issue in our society. The risks are great and lead to unfathomable results. Distracted driving has also taken such a big toll on our Nation, that laws have been put in place in hopes of preventing distracted driving.

Lately, cell phone distraction while driving has been a hot topic on the radio and television, with people giving their opinion or sharing experiences. Cell phone usage and other distraction are causing an increase in accidents. Text messaging has been around for about a dozen years , with public surveys showing overwhelming agreement that it's a dangerous distraction ( Halsey ).

Kratsas stated that according to the National Safety Council’s Annual injury and fatality report, 26% of the accident in the United States are caused by the use of cellphones. Using cellphones while driving has been a chronic problem in America. The U.S. government of transportation have been trying to make laws that forbid using cellphones behind the wheel. According to an article by Marino, “10 states plus D.C prohibit all drivers from using handheld cellphones, 32 states and D.C. prohibit novice drivers from cell phone use, and 30 states plus D.C. prohibit all drivers from text messaging.” Even though there are laws that forbid

In our fast-paced world, people often attempt to multitask. While multitasking works great at times, multitasking while driving leads to distracted driving. Unfortunately, distracted driving can lead to car wrecks, some of which result in fatalities. While not all driving distraction can be completely eliminated, there are several things you can do to avoid becoming a distracted driver.

“In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you,” (Heit). This specific quote shows how the results of distracted driving not only affects you, but also those around you. Distracted driving has been a serious concern for many years. This subject has been an issue because of the dangers it brings to the safety of others. One major type of distracted driving includes texting and driving. which is becoming more popular in today’s society because many have cell phones. Another type of distracted driving is drinking and driving, this continues to stay a topic for many years. Although drinking and driving and texting and driving carry many similarities with the

Distracted driving is one of the fastest growing problems in the United States.   It is starting to be considered as serious as drunk driving based on the dangerous outcomes.  According to the Department of Transportation (2012), “distracted driving was a cause of roughly 450,000 accident-related injuries and nearly 5,500 fatalities in 2009 alone” (para. 1). Drivers who allow themselves to become distracted while driving are not only endangering themselves, but other innocent bystanders.

There are 3 types of distraction: visual, manual and cognitive. Visual means we should never taking our eyes off the road, manual stands for taking hands off the steering wheel, cognitive means taking mind off of driving. Some people do not know why using cell phone is more dangerous than drunk. When people drunk, they usually do not drive that fast and they can still focusing on driving somehow, the reaction time is obviously slower. But when people texting while driving, they mostly take their eyes, hands and mind out of driving, this combination is why it is way more dangerous.

According to the Official U.S. Government Website for Distracted Driving, at the top of their list of distractions while driving in teens is text messaging, since it requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver. Nearly three quarters of teens have access to a smart phone, and 24% of those teens go online “almost constantly” (Lenhart). If nearly three quarters of teens have a cell phone, and they are constantly going online with their cell phones it should be no surprise to see text messaging comes in top of the list, and why the public has a growing concern with teenagers behind the wheel. The Official U.S Government Website for Distracted Drivers also points out, the largest age group of distracted drivers at the time

When it comes to someone getting behind a wheel it’s a big responsibility, you are not a passenger that could be doing different stuff you are now carrying with several lives and people are waiting for you at home. Many things cross our minds exactly when we are about to drive, but we need to learn how to ignore them and worry about getting where we supposed to be. Nowadays many accidents that occur on roads are caused by distracting driving and it seems easy to choose to do something such as: texting, eating or drinking, talking to passenger’s etcetera. “The best way to end distracted driving is to educate all Americans about the danger it poses” Not everyone realizes the danger it is being distracted while driving, but every distraction cause at least once to take our eyes off the road.

Today, texting while driving out numbers the amount of drunk driving according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a wreck than drunk driving. You are 23 times more likely to wreck if you are texting. Texting while driving is equal to driving bind for 5 seconds each text. Out of the worlds’ population of over 7 billion, at any given moment all over the world, over 800,000 drivers are texting. Drivers think they can handle looking away for a second to reply, or read a message. By doing this you are decreasing your break reaction time by 18% (national). “The concentration needed for safe driving makes texting safely at the same time impossible” (Bratsis 70). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, (C.D.C.)