Disadvantages Of Distracted Driving

“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

Distracted driving poses an immense problem across the United States, and the issue only seems to continue growing. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “In 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed” in cases involving distracted driving, and of those killed, “teens were the largest age group reported as distracted at the time of fatal crashes” (“Distracted Driving”, n.d.). These terrifying statistics cannot be ignored. Distracted driving is a national epidemic, and unless society addresses the problem properly and efficiently, the risky driving behavior will continue to plague our streets, endangering peoples’ lives and leading to more fatalities.

"Distracted Driving." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.

In 2016, 3,450 people were killed due to distracted driving accidents. Along with that, in 2015, over 391,000 people were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Distracted Driving). Distracted driving is classified in three ways. Visual, which involves doing anything that is taking your eyes off the road. Manual, which is caused by taking your hands off the steering wheel. Lastly, cognitive, when your mind is distracted from your main task of driving and you are not giving your full attention to the road. Due to the increasing technology in our day to day lives, it is more common to find drivers distracted by cell phones rather than anything else. This is why it is critical that more laws are implemented to

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.

They walk in front of cars and into street signs, falling off curbs and walking into tree limbs. They are distracted pedestrians who, while texting, talking on the phone, listening to music or even reading, have sustained serious injuries, some of which fatal.

Cell phones have made tremendous advancements in today's world and are becoming a necessity to the people in our society. Between social media, music apps, and texting, people are having a hard time staying off their cell phones while driving. Due to phone addiction, distracted driving is becoming a major issue in our country and is causing many people to lose their lives in motor vehicle accidents.

Distracted driving counts as talking on the phone, taking your eyes off the road, eating, doing makeup, eating, or even changing the radio station. Distracted driving is a common things most people do and people do it anyways risking their life. According to the CDC, everyday nine people die because of distracted driving. This very dangerous practice kills so many people each year and people keep doing it thinking it could never happen to them. Even though doing this may not kill you or the victim most of the time it can cause serious and expensive disabilities.

A filthy, crowded highway filled with so many cars it becomes a death trap. A high pitched noise rings out over the honking horns and disgruntled snickers. “New message” the screen flashes in colors and pictures that could make a blind person stop and stare. A tempted driver reaches over to sneak a “quick” peak at their box of hindrance. The driver continues to glare at their screen for a measly five seconds. Without knowing it they have already traveled the distance of a football field by going at a constant speed of fifty-five miles per hour (“Featured Video: Stairs”). As they continue down the road their chances of a fatal accident are increased by twenty- three percent (“Texting and Driving Safety, No Texting and Driving”). Distracted driving is impacting more than just young and foolish drivers. By understanding who it is affecting and why it is affecting them we can move forward in a solution to this issue.

In 2012, 18% of all accidents involved distracted drivers, and 3,328 people died as a result, according to the National Transportation and Safety Institute

To begin with, the use of mobile technology and portable communication devices while driving, as opposed to other causes of accidents, has contributed to the most fatalities among licensed adolescents and adults. If one is devoting all of his/her attention to an electronic device, he/she cannot be completely aware of the possible dangers of the area, for one’s line of vision and overall attention has been limited to a small screen. Also, a man fulfilling a task on his mobile telephone has thus restricted the total amount of control over his vehicle to only one hand, making it immensely difficult to manage his path of travel. When a driver is distracted, one might unnoticingly exceed the posted speed limits, run red lights and stop signs, or even collide with a pedestrian or other vehicle, labeling it the most frequent and fatal cause of traffic related casualties in the

In a 2009 study, VTTI found that, “Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field…blindfolded” (Data). Drivers may encounter any number of unexpected hazards in those five seconds, resulting in a car accident, serious injury, or death, but still people use their phones dangerously. Distracted driving due to cell phone use is widely practiced by all ages of drivers, many of whom do not take warnings seriously. Automakers are teaming up with cell phone companies to address the problem, but aren’t seeing much success. There are three strategies that should be used to minimize the habit of texting

First, what is distracted driving? Distracted driving is any activity that takes the drivers attention away from driving. These distractions threaten everyone in the vehicle and the innocent bystander’s safety. Some of the distractions include: texting, eating and drinking, reading, watching a video, adjusting the radio, putting on makeup. These distractions take the drivers attention away from what they should be doing. In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in an accident involving a distracted driver. Around 424,000 people were

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, eight people are killed each day in crashes involving distracted driving (Kelly, 1). This is an alarming stat that needs to be addressed immediately so this issue can be prevented allowing for better safety on the roads for drivers. In this day and age, technology has an exponentially greater impact on the daily lives of people in society as opposed to recent history, especially with millennials. Stats to the right show that 12% of teen crashes come from cell phone use distraction. From children to millennials to the older generations, phone use is almost depended on for everyday communication and staying abreast of news within their social circle and the globe.

Within all age groups the number on record for the year of 2009 for people killed in car accidents caused by distracted driving was 5,474 and the amount of people injured was 448,000. (“Driving Distracted”) Drivers don’t understand why the number raises so much by just being distracted but studies show that operating a hand held device when driving makes you four times more likely to be in a car accident that will be serious or be fatal. (“Driving Distracted”)