Imagine that you are taking a nice Sunday drive. In the distance, you see a white car hurling in your direction at a fast pace. Before you know it, you are in their lane, just yards in front of them. Bang! The next thing you remember is waking up in the Intensive Care Unit of a well-known hospital. You over hear the doctors tell your family that it you are in a serious condition, but they shouldn’t be worried. You also catch them discussing that the other individual in the accident died at the scene. Struggling through the serious concussion and other faint memories, you remember that you were texting a friend. What you thought was nothing, ended up taking a life of an innocent human, and you put yourself in misery and pain. You had no clue what that one text was going to do to your life. You will forever have this crime on your back, even if you aren’t in jail. Some people think that they won’t be affected by distracted driving, but they should reconsider their decisions, …show more content…
Some people become injured, or in some severe cases, there are deaths. In Becker, Minnesota, a seventeen year old is facing serious punishment due to texting and driving. Carlee Rose Bollig ran a red light in her pick-up truck. It ended up striking Charles Mauer and his 10-year-old daughter, Cassy, who were on their way home from the library. One of Minnesota’s state patrol officers stated that is was a selfish behavior that took two innocent lives. Bollig was charged with criminal vehicular homicide, using a phone while in motion and driving without a valid license. Some of Carlee Bollig’s friends told of times they told her to stop using her phone while behind the wheel, but she always argued and continued. Seconds before this deadly accident occurred, Bollig’s friends yelled, “Red Light!”, but she still flew through. Initially, her boyfriend hopped behind the wheel because she didn’t have a license. (Minn. Teen charged
Although people of all age-ranges use their smartphone device daily, people are more concerned of those who are younger. Adults born before the 2000s were raised in a world and society that was not technology based, so seeing the first generation to experience it can be unsettling. It is quite evident that almost every teen has a smartphone, and will use it at any given opportunity. The problem is teenagers actually use it anytime, even if the time is not appropriate. Many teens from the ages sixteen through eighteen are receiving their driver's license, but have a hard time not using smartphones while driving. This causes great dangers to everyone else on the roads. In some cases, people have been in accidents caused by people texting while driving. Unfortunately, many individuals have lost their lives because of someone texting while driving. In Turkle's’ piece “Growing up Tethered” she includes student testimonials such as Roman’s. “Roman, eighteen, admits that he texts while driving and he is not going to stop. ‘I know I should, but it’s not going to happen. If I get a Facebook message or something posted on my wall . . . I have to see it. I have to’” (Turkle 236). Though teenagers are very aware of circumstances when texting while driving, that still does not stop them from doing so. The constant “need” of being connected with friends and others on social media is what keeps teenagers from not
Many teens, so-called “younger generation”, seem too connected to their phones and have begun to text and drive. According to Sherry Turkle, “Roman, eighteen, admits that he texts while driving and he is not going to stop. ‘I know I should, but it is not going to happen. If I get a Facebook message or something posted on my wall, I have to see it. I have to” (Turkle 429). Even though teens know that they are doing something wrong, they still do it because they think nothing will happen. Just because we have not experienced accidents, does not mean it will not happen. Just think of all the people who have said the same thing. They think accidents are a world away from their own reality. No one seems to think about what can happen to other people as well as themselves. Everyone should think of others because just a little glance on your
People who text and drive can hit or even kill pedestrians because of being distracted by their phones and not paying attention to the road. In the course of five years, the national number of pedestrians who were killed or hit by distracted drivers increased from 344 to 500 people. If you think about it, many of those people who died could have been young children or elderly people who didn’t have a fault, but because of someone being so inconsiderate using their phone, they killed these people. In 2015, 5,376 pedestrians were killed because of drivers who were too busy texting. All those pedestrians who were killed did not think that because of walking somewhere they would be killed by someone so distracted who didn’t have the capacity to make sure that the road was clear for them to keep driving. If this problem had further consequences, then many of the people who died wouldn’t be dead right now.
In the article, “Dead Girl’s Parents Warn Students to Buckle Up and Stop Texting,” shows that texting while driving is hazardous and very real when Alex Brown, age 17, died due to result of texting while driving while not wearing a seatbelt. The parents of Alex Brown, Johhny Mac and Jeanne Brown, appeared in front of an audience of hundreds of Clyde middle and high school students, to educate young people about Alex’s accident and how easily it could have been prevented. Texting while driving impacts the lives of those around you. A single distraction while driving, as small and simple it may seem such as texting, can lead to the death of loved ones.
Many people have lost their lives on the road and caused other’s deaths because they were distracted with doing something while driving. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in distraction-related crashes (“Statistics on Texting & Cell Phone Use While Driving” n.d.). Distractions while driving that result in these accidents include texting/making a call or becoming intoxicated and having high blood alcohol concentration. Many laws have been brought forth to help regulate the amount of people drinking while driving and using a cell phone while driving. Not only do people put their own lives in danger, they are also putting other’s lives in danger. People who take part in these distractions are not being responsible when making these rash decisions while driving and creating a hazardous environment for those around them.
In a local news station called KCTV5 they did a report on an accident caused by texting and driving and this is what happened, “A 16-year-old girl has been charged with manslaughter, assault and texting while driving in connection with a September 2011 fatality collision. It's a moment the young driver can never take back, and one prosecutors said could have been avoided if she'd just put down her phone.” This is just plain sad that a 16 year old girl’s life just ruined because she choose to text and drive. Texting and driving is a humongous debate in our society because of how many people do it. People die due to texting and driving every day. people can go to jail for texting and driving and you can hurt other people. Texting and driving is dangerous and should be enforced.
The number of teens who are dying or being injured as a result of texting while driving has skyrocketed as mobile device technology has advanced. Researchers at Cohen Children 's Medical Center in New Hyde Park estimate more than 3,000 annual teen deaths nationwide from texting and 300,000 injuries. The habit now surpasses the number of teens who drink and drive -- a hazard that has been on a dramatic decline in recent years, researchers say. An estimated 2,700 young people die each year as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol and 282,000 are treated in emergency rooms for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Ricks)
Distracted driving in America is not a trivial issue in today's society. On average, eight people are killed and one thousand one hundred sixty one people are injured due to accidents involving distracted drivers, particularly due to texting. Distracted driving is a huge issue in our society. The risks are great and lead to unfathomable results. Distracted driving has also taken such a big toll on our Nation, that laws have been put in place in hopes of preventing distracted driving.
Ever wonder how your life would be if you killed someone while driving and texting? Think of it this way, it could be your friend, your child, someone you love with all of your heart or even you. How would this affect you, your family or the family of someone else you could easily hurt? During this essay I will persuade you why Idaho should enact Legislation which prohibits texting while driving with statistics, facts and my own personal experience.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of teen fatalities. Teens, mainly, don’t always see the risk of being distracted while driving, but can you imagine your world changing in a complete second due to someone being on their phone while driving? SummerBreak, a channel on YouTube sponsored by AT&T, brought in people to interview with the intent of talking about texting and driving, or distracted driving in general. Throughout the interview titled “Wait for it… this could save your life” the goal is to have the audience change the way they think about distracted driving, with the hope that it would prevent it from happening. The use of emotions, shift of the mood, as well as the
A simple glance of a text on a cell phone can cause dangerous circumstances to oneself and to others. During this circumstance, a person’s mental state is changed. “The average text takes about five second to send. Traveling at 55 mph, that’s like going the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed,” (Held). The mindset of a person who is texting while driving are not realizing that they are driving but are just thinking about that text that they’ve received. They’re eyes are off the road and on their phone which automatically causes immediate situations. Along with their eyes not on the road, their hands are no longer on the wheel but on the keypad of their device. In the fact of these mental states of a driver, consequences are quickly met. Consequences include jail time, fines and fees similar to drinking and driving. “The severity of punishments increases
Imagine while watching the news the reporter says a teen has been killed in a horrible accident. The news reporter says the teen was killed, because of being distracted by texting while driving. According to Florida Department of Motor Vehicle (2016), In the state of Florida it is legal to talk on the phone while driving as long as the driver doesn't break any road rules. The accident could have been prevented if operating phones while driving were against the law in the state of Florida. The driver's death is a prime example that the State of Florida does not do enough to prevent distracted driving. Distracted driving should be a first offense with stiffer penalties. Traffic laws protect the general safety of vehicle drivers and passages
While Kelley was driving on I-4, a friend texted her. Kelley picked up her phone and read the text. While she began to laugh, she looked up and started to realize that she was too close to the truck in front of her which started to brake. Kelley was too late to react on time and got into a bad accident. Luckily she made it out alive, but she could have ended up losing her life. Although a lot of people text while driving, they never admit that they do so. As illustrated in the real life example before, texting while driving is very dangerous and distractive and that is why it should be made illegal.
As cell phones become more popular, texting while driving is becoming the most widely known cause for car accidents among teens. The alarming rate of incidents where texting is involved is getting more parents worried and warning their children about the danger of texting while driving. Parents are urging the fact that drivers should pay attention to the road and traffic, not their phones. A popular study of 18 to 24 year old drivers showed that 66 percent of them have texted while driving. Since texting while driving is becoming more popular many states are passing a law to ban the use of any cell phone device while in a vehicle. Texting while driving is an important issue that is causing many deaths and those who cause these deaths and
(Creditability) I have seen too many families that have been affected by accidents from distracted drivers. This includes my own, five years ago my niece’s car was rear end by a teen that was texting while driving.