Distracted Driving: Improving Our Society

Distracted driving is the leading cause of car accidents in America, followed by speeding, then drunk driving. A study performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTAS) found that 80% of car crashes were a direct result of distracted driving. There are three types of distractions for drivers: visual, cognitive, and manual. Cell phone usage whilst driving meets all three criteria for a distracted driver. When a person is using a phone they will take their eyes away from the road to look at the device (visual), they will think about the content of what they are looking at and take their mind off of the road (cognitive), and they will also take their hands off of the wheel to use the device (manual). There are many other reasons that can be attributed to distracted driving, like applying make-up or loud passengers in the car, but cell phone usage is becoming a rapidly growing concern, especially with younger drivers. The NHTAS identified that drivers under the age of 20 make up the highest proportion of distracted drivers that were involved in fatal crashes.

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.

Based on what the author stated in the introduction of Distracted Driver, “Driving a motor vehicle is serious business and you need to be well-rested and attentive in order to be a safe driver.”

Distracted Driving ranks at the forefront of many drivers thinking for traffic safety. 80% of drivers at the AAA foundation say that distracted driving is a serious problem, and a behavior that makes them feel less safe on the road. 50% of the people say that they feel less safe this year than they did 5 years ago because distracted driving has increased. Federal estimates say that 16% of the fatal crashes are due to distracted driving, leading to around 5,000 deaths each year. Research has concluded that distraction lasts about 27 seconds longer, which means even after a driver puts down their phone, they aren’t fully engaged in their driving tasks. AAA believes that by educating the public on how mental and physical distractions can impair

As mentioned, distracted driving is a rising epidemic caused by the rapid growth of smartphone addiction caused by social media. While operating a smartphone, drivers are physically & cognitively distracted. Multitasking is in impossible considering the brain can only fixate on a defined extent of information. Undeniably, young adults and teens are more likely to handle their phone without reservation while they are driving, creating a high risk for the effects of distraction. Despite the convenience of hands-free devices, it is not a solution and is a serious distraction that causes a delay in reaction time, consequently putting these and other drivers at risk for a crash.

In conclusion, if you chose to drive please make sure your full attention is on driving. Driving is not a joke and many innocent lives past away because of reckless driving. Don’t chose to text or talk while driving because you can lose your life and the person besides you. If people would concentration and pay attention to their driving there would be less innocent lives

Alongside these bad habits there are more that today’s drivers take participation in. Driving is a dangerous thing to do so all of the attention from the driver should be concentrated on the road, and nothing else. Texting, speeding and driving under the influence are all bad influences on driving. More and more people are taking part in becoming accustomed to these habits and because of this the road is becoming a very dangerous

If there was a self survey questioning one’s personal driving skills, most would consider themselves a pretty good driver. Many would say that they abided by laws, and even if they didn’t, they would still consider themselves good drivers. However, drivers today have many bad habits but often are blind to them because they have had them for so long now. No matter how drivers may justify their habits, accidents still occur every 15 minutes. Altogether, approximately 1.2 million people die from a car accident each year. Bad driving habits can range from simply trying to “multi-task” when behind the wheel, to “having one drink” and considering oneself to be fine to drive. Imagine how many of these accidents could have been avoided by simply changing the occurrence and development of these bad habits.

Every day in the United States, there are approximately nine people killed and about 1,000 people injured by a distracted driver. Distracted driving is the leading cause of car crashes in the United States. Distracted driving is an act of engaging in non-driving activities that distract the driver from focusing on the task of driving itself. Distracted driving can be either visual, manual, or cognitive (taking your eyes off the main task of driving). Furthermore, some distractions include texting, eating, talking on the phone, apps, changing music, applying makeup or other grooming actions, etc. Distracted driving has been a problem since the early 1990s, leading into the 2000s currently. In result of this, distracted driving affect the lives of innocent people, phone companies do not take in account to cut phone use while driving, and people need more education on the dangers of distracted driving.

Long before the rise of the tech revolution there were distractions that occurred while driving from one point to another: from applying makeup, eating, fiddling with the radio station or CD player, or talking to other occupants in the car, these were normal activities while driving that were likely the cause of accidents resulting in injury or death. Distracted driving is not a new phenomenon however, the tech revolution has ushered in a host of new distractions. Add these new distractions to the previous ones, and a simple errand or running to the grocery store for example, is exponentially more dangerous than ever before. In 2015 alone, 3,477 people’s lives were

In order talk about distracted driving we must start off by defining the term. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving is any activity that takes away attention from driving which includes texting on your phone, eating and drinking, and anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving. To create awareness we must establish the gravity of the issue by using factual information given by credible sources. According to the Department of Transportation, over 100,825 traffic accidents in the state of Texas were caused due

Over the past few years, distracted driving has become much more prevalent. With the majority of people now owning smart phones, many people are so attached to their phones that they continue to check for messages or send a text while driving. This dangerous action of distracted driving affects not only anyone driving or in a car, but also those that use public transportation such as buses, and pedestrians. Although those who are in a car are most at risk for experiencing unwanted results from distracted driving, anyone who is near a road is endangered. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s data from 2011, “driver distraction [was] reported in 10% of fatalities and 16% of injuries” in accidents on the road.” (International Journal of Injury Control & Safety Promotion, 2015) Also, the American College of Emergency

Safe driving seems to be very hard for us now. There so many accidents now due to the lack of us being careful and not following the rules. We may think what we are doing isn’t bad, or we haven’t been caught yet, so we must be good at it. The reality is that we need to think twice about these things before something happens that can change our life or the life of someone else entirely. We may think we can control the situation, but in reality, things can happen so fast that we wouldn’t even be able to react to them. The main reasons that cause fatalities and crashes are, driving under the influence, speeding, texting while driving, and not wearing a seatbelt while driving. It doesn’t matter how long we have done it or if we haven’t been caught, when it does happen it can be a very bad outcome and can happen in a split second. I personally feel that these things have really become a major factor and find it incumbent that something should be done to stop them from happening.

Long before the rise of the tech revolution there were distractions that occurred while driving from one point to another: from applying makeup, eating, fiddling with the radio station or CD player, or talking to other occupants in the car, these were normal activities while driving that were likely the cause of accidents resulting in injury or death. Distracted driving is not a new phenomenon however, the tech revolution has ushered in a host of new distractions. Add these new distractions to the previous ones, and a simple errand or running to the grocery store for example, is exponentially more dangerous than ever before. In 2015 alone, 3,477 people’s lives were lost that can be attributed to distracted driving along with a staggering 391,000 people injured (National Highway

You are travelling 90 km/h down the highway and the glow of your phone’s screen appears in your peripheral vision. You glance down, see that your friend has texted you, and make the decision to unlock your phone to reply to the text message. You take your eyes and mind off of the road. One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds pass by. Without even knowing you have travelled the length of a football field blindfolded (Distracted Driving Statistics CAA, 2017). Technology has grown exponentially and has made our society more connected and involved in each others lives but also distracts us from things that are important. The use of technology as well as doing other activities behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle that inhibits your driving is dangerous. To the majority of the millennial society, distracted driving is rarely seen as a risk on the roads, yet has become one of the leading causes of near-collisions and collisions. Not only are drivers putting themselves in danger, they are putting passengers in their car, other drivers on the road, and pedestrians in danger. Distracted driving is dangerous and we need to do more to prevent it.