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Distracted Driving Argumentative Essay

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7.08 Assignment – Argumentative Essay Final Draft

It's no secret that distracted driving is a huge issue in today's world. In 2015 alone, more than 3,400 deaths and 390,000 injuries occurred as a result of distracted driving, according to dmv.org. Most people are aware of this nationwide problem, and while some people have taken the pledge to stop distracted driving behavior, many people have chosen to simply ignore the issue. Those people are a danger to everyone else on the road, and because it is not easy or ethical to force them to stop their behavior, the easiest and most effective option is to convince them to stop. Trying to convince people of the dangers of distracted driving can come in several forms, but the most noticeable and arguably …show more content…

The NHTSA claims that they “Lead the fight nationally against distracted driving by educating Americans about its dangers and partnering with the States and local police to enforce laws against distracted driving that help keep us safe.” They have several public service announcements that they release to the public through TV commercials, and social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. Because of that, many people end up watching these PSAs, even if they weren't trying to. These public service announcements are brief, but they often provide realistic footage, coupled with facts and statistics, which can make them very effective. Some of them often depict the consequences of distracted driving, and some can be very realistic, showing how a life can end very quickly if you are distracted while on the road. These types of PSAs use a technique that can be defined as the “scare method”, where a person views the PSA and decides to believe and obey it because it scares them with it's realistic view of the possible consequences that can happen. These are arguably more effective than a regular PSA, but the “scare method” does not work on everyone. Just using statistics in a quick PSA is another widely-used method, and likely the most popular. Road signs with a statistic on distracted driving deaths, or a 30-second advertisement about …show more content…

This method is using a personal experience of someone who was involved in a distracted driving incident in the PSA. This is a very clever way to make a PSA effective, because often times people can relate to other people who were involved in an incident. Whether they had a family member who was involved, or they were the driver who caused the incident, there are plenty of distracted driving stories out there that are waiting to be shared. Fox9.com shared a “heart-wrenching” story of a man who caused a distracted driving incident by looking at his phone for only a short time. By the time that dump truck driver Frank Rychtik looked at the road once again, it was too late. He had hit a car while he was distracted, and had unintentionally taken an innocent life, which he says he greatly regrets. When these sad and often emotional stories are shared with people via a public service announcement, more people begin to take notice. People tend to understand these stories, and seeing what happened to real people directly because of distracted driving can often make them want to stop doing it. Even the people who think “it won't happen to me” will hear an experience like Frank Rychtik's and learn that it really can happen to anyone. This is one of the main reasons that distracted driving PSAs can be very effective, contrary to

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