Cellphone Driving Influence

These little handheld devices are useful tools that today’s generation is lucky to have, but they can cause grave danger. They can even decide whether you live another minute. In all cases, it is not this extreme, see however, it is. According to U.S. cell phone and driving statistics in 2012, 3,328 people died in cell-phone distraction-related crashes. About 421,000 obtained injuries in crashes involving a distracted driver. Since that survey numbers have only kept increasing. This statistic alone makes the situation a little clearer and establishes a concrete reason why Wyoming needs to eliminate cell-phone usage behind the wheel.

“Distracted driving refers to any nondriving activity that takes motorists ' attention away from the safe operation of their vehicles” (Leone). Every time a driver gets in a vehicle and decides to use a cell phone to have a conversation, either talking or texting, they put themselves and others lives in danger. The convenience a cell phone and the capabilities they offer have made them a substantial distraction and a cause of significant source of vehicle accidents and fatalities. There are three different types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. Cell phone use is the most dangerous distraction because it involves all three different types of distraction and plays a part in the increasing issue of distracted driving. Even

The amount of car accidents that happen each year continue to increase. This continues to happen because of the number of people who consistently drive distracted everyday. This is due to a surplus of reasons, however, many fall subject to driving distracted because they prioritize their cell phones more than what is happening on the road in front of them.

Nearly everyone is using cell phones in their day routine lives. Cell phones have now become less of a novelty and more of a communication tool providing many utilities all in one package, from camera, video games, internet and apps; they combine business and personal convenience.

Distracted driving is second on the list and is expected to rise in years to come (Wilson &Stimpson, 2010). In 2008, one in every six fatal crashes was a result of distracted driving. Studies showed that drivers who text and drive were 23 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash (Wilson &Stimpson, 2010). Approximately 660,000 drivers are manipulating some kind of electronic device or cell phone while driving on U.S. highways (Wilson &Stimpson, 2010). In 2012, 3328 fatalities and 421,000 injuries were a result of this hazardous behavior (Wilson &Stimpson,

I am particularly interested in researching this topic because it is an everyday occurrence that I see individuals carelessly texting and driving not knowing that they are putting themselves, along with everyone else on the road in danger. People simply just don’t understand the true depths of this action. Through developing a data analysis on motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers, I hope to build awareness to this issue and potentially save lives.

Distracted driving is when people concurrently operate a vehicle and engage in non-driving actions that could redirect their attention away from the task at hand, driving. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2009, 450,000 people were wounded and 5,500 people died in car accidents in which distracted driving was a component (Ferdinand, Menachemi, 2014). Although cell phones have become very popular in recent years, a vehicle is not the place for them because the driver could injure himself/herself or another person. They could also get into a car accident, or they could even be pulled over by the police because it is illegal in many states.

Driving is one of the many luxuries we have available in this country. According to the Federal Highway Administration, there are over 210 million licensed drivers in the United States. Of those 210 million motorists how many do you think are distracted right now? It is true that the number one cause of distracted driving stems from hand held devices such as: cell phones, radios, iPad, food, make-up, books, and ect. According to the National NPA, 80% of drivers rate distracted driving as a very serious threat to their safety; texting while driving has the highest crash risk of all forms of distracted driving; drivers using a hand-held device are four times more likely to cause a crash serious enough to cause injury; an estimated

No states have yet to ban the use of cell phones while driving but, as of 2012 thirty-two states and the District of Columbia ban cell phone use by all new drivers. Ten states ban talking on a hand-held cell phone. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted texting-while-driving laws that ban texting while driving. Of these, thirty-five states and the District of Columbia make it a primary violation to text while driving. According to Ashley Halsey, a staff writer for the Washington Post says in “Laws against Texting While Driving Are Ineffective” 450,000 people were killed or injured in 2011 due to distracted

Distracting driving is a common occurrence with modern day drivers. Due to technological advances making electronics so easy to use on the go, many find themselves spending more time looking at their cell phone or navigation system than they do looking at the road. According to the NHTSA, distracted driving claimed the lives of 3,477 people in 2015 alone. Texting and driving is a common distraction, especially when it comes to the younger generation of drivers. Young drivers are oblivious to the dangers of what seems like such a harmless act. Studies have shown that one 1 in 4 accidents are caused by texting and driving. The number of people injured from distracted drivers in 2015 was 391,000. Over half of the nation’s car accidents are a result of texting and driving. Whereas drinking and driving may kill more people, the leading cause of car accidents is in fact texting and driving.

Nine people are killed in the United States every day after being distracted somehow while driving, whether from using a cell phone, eating, or some other way.

Researchers at Erie Insurance examined crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which collects information on U.S. car accidents. They found that, over the past five years, approximately 172,000 people have died in traffic accidents. Of those deaths, around 10 percent were blamed on distracted driving. Surprisingly, most of these distracted driving fatalities did not occur because someone was texting or making a phone call. Instead, researchers found that 62 percent of all distracted driving deaths involved at least one driver who was simply daydreaming. In comparison, only

Saying things are dangerous is meaningless without the evidence and statistical support that backs the claims. A Federal Communication Commission to the House of Representatives produced multiple revealing statistical studies to present to the House in order to start considering a national law. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2008 that driver distraction was the cause of 16 percent of all fatal crashes (Julius). In the 5,800 crashes created by distracted driving in 2008, 21 percent of those crashes resulted in a basic injury, and 515,000 people were wounded in serious injuries (Julius). Since 2008, more recent studies have been completed to more accurately show that distracted driving is truly a growing problem. A study by Virginia Tech Driving Institute revealed that those who resort to texting while driving are 23 time more likely to meet with an accident. According to a report by the National Safety Council, talking or texting while driving causes 28 percent of car accidents. The researchers at Virginia Tech also concluded that of all cellphone related tasks including talking, dialing, or reaching for the phone, texting while driving is the most dangerous. The large number of accidents and injuries are not surprising considering when texting, the driver’s steering capability goes

In these states, testers not only face punishment from local police for violation of the law, but also is a very good indicator to insurance companies of who was at fault for the accident. When an insurance company evaluates an accident to decide fault, the adjuster will consult the police report to decide if either driver was violating traffic laws at the time of the accident. If a driver has violated a law, he or she will take on a great deal, if not all, of the responsibility for the accident. Violations of anti-texting laws are particularly suggestive of fault because the laws preventing texting are in place to limit distracted driving – meaning that someone who texts and drives is distracted, presents a significant driving danger, and so negligent of his or her duty to drive carefully and avoid accidents. Because texting and driving creates a significant risk of accident, even a driver who is hit by a speeder or someone running a red light, can be held partly responsible if texting at the time of the accident. Texting and driving laws give insurance companies an opportunity to clearly, and arguably, assign a significant responsibility for the accident to the driver who was paying more attention to the phone instead of the road – regardless of what the other driver involved in the accident was doing. Amid 23,328 people kicked the bucket in accidents ascribed

According to the National Safety Council, motor vehicle crashes are the top two leading causes of injury death for everyone from the age of one to over age sixty-five and the number one cause of work-related deaths. On average approximately 38,000 people are killed in automobile accidents every year. This does not account for serious injuries that permanently disable. A major cause of crashes and fatalities is driver distraction. Driver distraction is now a leading cause of accidents ranking as high as alcohol and speed related accidents. Twenty-one percent of driver-distracted accidents are related to talking on cell phones and three percent account for texting. Since 1996, cell phone use has grown from 14 percent to 102.4 percent in 2011 in the United States (NSC, 2012).