Dangers Of Texting While Driving

Wouldn’t you agree that texting and driving is a big issue nowadays? Many drivers are so caught up in their phones that they risk their lives and the lives of others just so that they could answer a simple text message. Now that this problem is becoming so big, it should have severe consequences. People who text and drive should get license suspension for six months and get $500 for the first violation and $1000 for the second violation.

The act of sending electronic messages or texting is easily accessible to anyone that owns a cell phone. Often people are seen with the cell phone in one hand and texting while walking, eating in a restaurant with friends, working or shopping. It has become a part of everyday life. The convenience and the need to stay connected has made texting a useful method of communicating, that has increased dramatically with teenagers. “Adolescents report that texting is the most common way that they stay in contact with friends, sending an average of a hundred texts per day” (Delgado para. 1). This includes texting while driving. The effects of distracted driving from texting include legal penalties, increase in insurance premiums, motor vehicle crashes, and even death. Texting while driving has become a major problem in the United State and a simple LOL can have serious consequences.

Did you know every day your life is put at risk because of other’s bad driving habits? Well, when I first got my driver’s license I believed I was prepared to drive, but I was wrong. I still needed to learn about all the hazards around myself. Habits are tough to break when becoming attached, even though various habits are illegal. However, speeding, texting while driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol are a few of the many extremely common habits drivers use daily.

When you're driving do you ever want to take a peek at your phone for just a second but do you ever consider the other life's of the other drivers? Texting while driving is very dangerous and causes thousands of deaths every year in fact motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of accident deaths among teens. With that texting while driving should be banned in every state. When you're driving and you look at a text it's not just you on the road you're not just putting your life in danger but other drivers and you're passengers. When your texting while driving you're much more likely to wreck then when you have your eyes on the road. Texting while driving is also more debilitating to your reaction time then when you're under the influence of alcohol.

There is thousands of motor vehicle crashes every year. The leading cause of crashes is teenagers. In 2014, there was 2,270 teens ages 16-19 were killed and 221,313 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered by a motor vehicle. People ages 15-19 represented 7% of the U.S. population, but they accounted for 11%($10 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries. There are three main types of distractions. Visual: taking your eyes off the road; manual: taking your hands off of the steering wheel; and cognitive: taking your mind off of driving. Distracted driving actions include things like eating, using your cellphone, and messing with the radio. Texting while driving is especially dangerous because it uses all three types

The second reason of why texting while driving should be made illegal is that it is as dangerous, or even more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. In a research study it has been proven that even with a hands-free device, talking on a phone can impair driving skills more than driving under the influence of alcohol does (Saletan 3) because when under the influence the driver does not lose sight from the road and constantly knows what is going on around him, even though his judgment has been impaired and his reaction time has been slowed down. In contrast, texting while driving makes you lose sight from the road which makes the drivers reaction time much longer than someone driving under the influence and can make him end up in a very bad accident.

When sending a text message while you are driving your eyes leave the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. It may not seem like much time, but a lot can happen in that small amount of time. In five seconds, a silver Toyota 4 Runner can tap the left side of your green Honda Civic at 65 miles per hour and send you flying across a freeway. In five seconds a car can travel the distance of a football field. In five seconds your neighbor’s daughter can run out into the street to grab her soccer ball as you back out of your driveway. What if you were not paying full attention to what you were doing? What if you were trying to dial a phone number on your cell while trying to back up? What if you did not see

Texting and driving shouldn't be taken lightly. It's a concern that leads to crashes, sidetracks drivers and is an addiction. If people stop texting and focus on the road, it won't be as a substantial issue

According to statistics, only 5% of crashes are related to texting while driving (“Texting Bans”). This has created a mentality that texting while driving is safe, as long as the person is careful. However, the numbers are not as low as they seem. Statistics from 2012 show that 5,474 people died and 448,000 people were injured in car crashes related to distracted driving (Mayerowitz). Texting while driving has killed thousands of people and will continue to kill more. It only takes a few seconds looking down to crash into another vehicle. In summary, texting while driving is not acceptable because of the risk it

What I have seen over the past 9 years, several drivers texting and driving, in their personal car and even in their tractors/ trailers. They weave all over the road just trying to read their text messages. But as a result as we all know it’s not worth your life for the action of reading the text.

We often do things in our everyday life without thinking about what could happen. We take our daily life activities for granted such as driving. On a daily basis we all ride in or drive cars. If we didn’t learn to drive correctly then we would put our life in danger along with everyone else's on the road or in the same car as us. Teenagers don't think of the possibilities that could happen while driving.

Samantha is on her way home from work, driving 55 mph, and her husband texts her to see if she can pick up some milk from the grocery store for supper. She grabs her phone and reads the message. She looks up at the road before she replies to him and she is head on with another car 10 feet away from her, she slams on the breaks and swerves to try to miss the car. She rolls her car three times, landing in the ditch, where the car is upside down. The gentlemen in the other car calls 911. Police, ambulance, and fire trucks show up at the scene. Samantha is pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband receives a call from the officer on the scene telling him his wife is dead. When you are behind the wheel and you get a text message, is it worth

Cell phones began as big, clunky machines only few people could afford. They became more popular as they reduced the size of them, eventually so that they could fit comfortably in jean pockets. Cell phones were then able to send text messages, and it started out popular and remains that way still today. Texting is used to send someone a quick message that they can read at any time. Texting is used as an alternative of calling someone as it is easier and more convenient. Although texting is easily assessable, it can end up very dangerous in some ways. Texting and driving for instance, it can end up being easy and other times end up deadly. With that being said, using phones while driving should be banned altogether because, the driver is distracted and not paying attention to the road and could harm themselves or others on the road with him/her.

Another solution that has been put into practice is the fact that texting and driving is illegal. However, the restriction of using mobile devices while driving is currently only applied in 39 states (Simon). This makes it so that 11 states do not enact such legislation and therefore, this solution does not work. Many of these states laws are generally not enforced due to the fact that it is difficult to execute. Although it is illegal, the law has not stopped people from texting and driving. Because punishments are not regularly recognized and are not strict enough, this dangerous crime is often overlooked.

This paper is being submitted on June 15th 2017, for Vicki Phillips’ G124/ENC 1101 English Composition.