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
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.
There were no knowledgeable facts throughout the video expressing the real-world statistics of the death ratio due to texting and driving. Even though the video itself doesn’t provide facts, the description bar evaluates that “over 440,000 people are killed or injured every year by distracted drivers.” This would have been the perfect thing to add into the PSA to back up their reasonings for the production. After experiencing the pathos and ethos of it, seeing the facts in which the video was based off would’ve been helpful in the process of being persuaded not to text and drive. Public Service Announcements should always have reasoning in why they were made and this video did not provide that. The PSA left the viewers to look up the statistics rather than providing
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
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
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.
Around 90% of participants in a study on reception of PSAs understood the PSA "eyes on the road hands on the wheel" to mean either "stay alert" or "don't drive distracted" (US Department of Transportation, 2017). This implies that PSAs certainly get their message across when they are viewed. On average, at least 70% of participants recognized a seat belt PSA, so PSAs stick in the memory of those who view them (US Department of Transportation, 2017). According to the US Department of Transportation (2017), around 60% participants agreed that it was often or always necessary for dynamic PSA signs on roads. In addition, the majority of participants strongly agreed that it was very important to provide information on putting away mobile phones while driving. This shows that people are aware of the problem of distracted driving, and agree that awareness of this problem in others is extremely important. Finally, the participants were asked if would change their behavior if they saw a PSA that said "eyes on the road, hands on the wheel", "don't be a distracted driver", or "drive safely, text later it can wait". The overwhelming majority answered maybe, probably yes, or definitely yes (US Department of Transportation, 2017). PSAs do make a huge difference in driving behavior and give people a reminder of the consequences of distracted driving. The more immediate a reminder, the more it will affect your behavior, so PSAs on signs are even more effective than those viewed on television or in other advertising. PSAs are important parts of preventing dangerous behavior like distracted
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
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.
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.
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.