In 2011 alone, 1.3 million car crashes involved the driver being distracted because they were using their phone. This is a shocking statistic and what’s even more frightening is that even though it is a big problem, people continue to drive while distracted. There are plenty of methods that the public has tried for these distracted drivers to stop. One way is through a PSA, or a Public Service Announcement. PSAs are just what it sounds like. They notify the public about a certain topic that is critical to be heard. Even though PSA’s are have not been proven to be helpful according to recent statistics, I believe that it is just a good method that takes time. Public Service Announcements have been airing since the 1970s to the 1980s. The topics we mainly hear about are anti-drug/smoking and pollution/littering. However, there has been a recent topic that has been brought up by the public, and that is distracted driving. Distracted driving is just what it sounds like, it is when the person driving the car takes their focus off the road for something else. When people think of …show more content…
Public Service Announcements do as little as saying that it is an issue, nothing more. After that, it is up to the person to listen to the message or ignore it. There always has been a problem of how impactful PSAs can be. There has been controversy on how graphic or emotional it can be due to people becoming traumatized. Although it is true that PSAs haven’t made a big impact on the statistics, people would argue that having a video talking about it is better than not doing anything about it. The public needs to know how important it is and that is what the job of a PSA is. The problem is, most people think they are invincible, that it cannot possibly happen to them. It can happen to them, and it will. PSAs are beneficial even if it takes time to make an impact. A country wasn’t built in a
In the scholarly journal “Distracted Driving: Prevalence, Problems, and Prevention”, Tiffany Overton, who has an MA and MPH degree, wrote a research report with her colleagues that clearly stated the impact cell phones have on drivers and provided potential solutions to the issue. They begin their report with a short introduction that briefs the acknowledgment on the negative impacts of distracted driving. Continuing on, Overton and her associates outline the topics their research report covers in means of identifying distracted driving and ways to reduce the issue in the United States. They define distracted driving as “eating, applying makeup, reading, smoking, and talking” (Overton), however, “the most prominent activity fuelling research
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.
A distracted driver is anyone who diverts their attention from driving by either talking or texting, talking or performing any other multitasking activity on a mobile device while driving. on a mobile device eitherRegardless if the device is a hand-held hands on or hand-freeoff or multitasking while driving. All distractions are dangerous, but text messaging is the most hazardous because it requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver (Distraction.govDistracted Driving, 2013). Regardless of the ageage, sex, or expertise of a driver; a distracted driver is a danger to society. When we drive distractedFor the distracted driver, the result is the same, and it is just an accident waiting to happen. The fact is that, and the growing number of life changing accidents is inis on the rise. This practice does not only affect the driver but “all distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety” (Distracted Driving, 2013).
Prior to researching my topic, I knew that distracted driving was a serious matter, but I never thought too much of it. As a passenger in the car with adults and friends, I always saw them changing the radio station, talking on the phone, or texting, but never saw it as that big of a deal. As I watched the news, I used to see inventions and software come up all the time that is supposed to prevent drivers from driving distracted. Things such as cars with Bluetooth connectivity, and voice enable calling or texting were recently put into cars, and at first I felt it made sense. After I conducted my research, I
A Public Service Announcement (PSA) can help reduce the number of distracted driving accidents by explaining the horrible effects of distracted driving and the best ways to prevent distracted driving. Currently, the main source of distracted driving is cell phones. Cell phones cause a person to text, call, and use social media while driving; all factors that can be a deadly distraction while driving. A cell phone causes much distraction for the driver and may cause the driver to have a car crash that not only affects themselves, but also the surrounding people. As a community, we should be educating people about distracted driving in order to prevent the problem and decrease the number of accidents. Public Service Announcements are important as they provide people with evidence, resources to limit distraction while driving, and helpful/important information. Teenagers, children, and even adults will be able to be informed. Even though educating people through a Public Service Announcement is important, it might not be viewed by most people and will not be effective towards the younger viewers. Teenagers and even adults might dismiss a Public Service Announcement because the announcement does not grab their attention or because the person might not care.
Distracted driving is a major problem all over the world. Some people believe that making distracted driving against the law will help, but many people don’t take the law into consideration. People should be taught that distracting yourself while driving is serious and very life threatening to you, the people in the car with you, and the other individuals on the road. Many people lack the common sense to not use their phone while getting behind the wheel. There should be a class or warning when someone gets their license reminding them the hazards of being on your phone while
But of course, PSA’s don’t just shake people awake. Back in 2009, the Field family & their friends suffered a severe loss, the loss of Josh Field, a bright young man who stole everyone’s hearts. In a recent PSA interview video, we hear from Kathryn Field, Josh's mother. Towards the end of the PSA video, she admits: “If Josh had more knowledge about the outcome of answering that cell phone, maybe he wouldn’t have, maybe he would have just left it”. Clearly, PSA’s do more than just shake us awake; they also have the power to save lives by giving us the knowledge to stay safe. Think about it this way, if distracted driving PSA’s were as popular 6-7 years ago as they are today, bringing people the knowledge to make the right decision, then maybe Josh, and many others would have remembered the dangers and would have ignored that cell phone and focused on the road. Sadly Josh wasn’t fully informed of the dangers of distracted driving and so, he lost his life that day. Mrs.
In schools a common topic is about not doing drugs however distracted driving is almost never talked about. There should be ads placed on websites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram because that's where the most people will be able to see them. When you go to get your drivers license distracted driving should be a major topic that is discussed. If the dangers were talked about more then I feel that less people would do it. I also think signs should be put on highways and other major roads stating that distracted driving is bad. As a country we should find new ways to get the point across of how dangerous it
According to Ashley Gaddis from Counterpoint, “From 1999 to 2008, nearly fifty-two thousand people were killed in car crashes caused by distracted drivers” (n.pag.). Distracted driving started when technology became mobile and handheld. Many people have died and gotten injured from people not paying attention to the road. This problem has been growing as technology advances. Distracted driving is a big problem and there needs to be stronger penalties and laws in place to deter people from distracted driving.
Each day in the United States, 8 people on average are killed in a distracted driving related accident (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Distracted driving can constitute anything from talking on the phone to reaching for a fallen object while driving. One way people have been fighting to combat the deadliness of distracted driving is through PSAs. PSAs are Public Service Announcements, like commercials, that warn people of dangerous activities and heighten their awareness of a problem. Even if people think no one pays attention to PSAs, if even one person saw and understood a PSA, it would make a difference. PSAs are an important part of the prevention of distracted driving because it heightens peoples' awareness of the
Distracted driving is a very serious and controversial topic. Transportation plays such a huge role in people’s lives considering everyone has a busy schedule and they want to get to where they are going quickly while staying connected. There are 600,000 drivers attempting to use their phone at any given time throughout each and every day. To give some perspective on the issue, The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. 1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving. That is a lot of accidents occurring each year that could be prevented. There are several things happening on social media and in our
Being the cause of a cell phone related accident can leave a person unable to handle the consequences of their actions. There is great concern regarding the dangers of distracted driving. This is made evident by legislation that has been put in place in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (2011), nationwide, 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have enacted texting bans. Current data from the National Safety Council (2010) suggest that each year, at least 1.6 million traffic accidents (28% of all crashes) in the United States are caused by drivers talking on cell phones or texting. The U.S. Department of Transportation (2011) states that nine states, the District of Columbia, and
Advancing technology in wireless communications is presenting a growing concern for distracted driving due to using cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. Although distracted driving accidents and fatalities have risen in the last decade, placing a ban on the use of a cell phone or other electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle as some states have will not resolve the issue. In fact a ban on cell phones and driving may very well increase the accident and fatality rate because drivers are now more involved with concealing their illegal behaviors. More citizen participation and drivers safety management should be more carefully considered in a transpiring situation such as this. More Americans should be
When it comes to someone getting behind a wheel it’s a big responsibility, you are not a passenger that could be doing different stuff you are now carrying with several lives and people are waiting for you at home. Many things cross our minds exactly when we are about to drive, but we need to learn how to ignore them and worry about getting where we supposed to be. Nowadays many accidents that occur on roads are caused by distracting driving and it seems easy to choose to do something such as: texting, eating or drinking, talking to passenger’s etcetera. “The best way to end distracted driving is to educate all Americans about the danger it poses” Not everyone realizes the danger it is being distracted while driving, but every distraction cause at least once to take our eyes off the road.
A word has started to appear in discussions of driving. The word is "distracted." It refers to drivers who pay more attention to their cell phones, or their text messages, than they do to driving. The results can be fatal. One of the most common distractions today is texting. Each day in the United States, 9 people are killed and more than 1,060 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (Center). A couple of months ago, I and a friend were sitting at a red light waiting on green. We were talking about making plans for later that evening. We decided what to do as soon as the light turned green, we waited on the car in front of us to ease off the line. Then we were hit. This turned into a five car pileup.