Distracted Walking Injuries

We all are probably aware that texting and talking on the phone is a distraction to all drivers and can be very dangerous. Also, we all know there are many other distractions besides texting and driving, and any type of technology can cause a driver to be distracted. Forty-one percent of all drivers use their hands to text in the car while driving, according to Greg Gardner (52). It can cause people to forget about pedestrians or their surrounding areas. People who are distracted often aren’t focused and don’t have both hands on the wheel. According to Bryan Wilson, people may say that cell phones are easy to be pointed out as a problem, but statistics show the damage cell phones can do to a person while they are driving (6). According to Simon Usborne, time spent not looking at the road while talking on the phone is 15% of the time (68). Also, while texting and driving the time spent not looking at the road is 30% of the time (Usborne 69). As technology improves more and more people may feel the need to use their cell phones while driving. According to Melissa Healy, cell phone use can be as dangerous as drunk driving (42). Tests should be done to compare the various ways of sober people under the influence driving also to compare the impact of texting and driving. This would give us a better understanding of just how dangerous driving and being on our phone really is.

Is the use of a cell phone worth the risk on the roadway? Cell phones have become an integral part of our daily life. With the increase of technology of cell phones, it makes our daily lives easier and more efficient. Multitasking results in those tasks competing for the driver’s attention, diverting the driver’s attention away from the roadway. The use of cell phones of any kind impairs a driver’s decision-making ability. The driver’s attention and their ability to process anything besides driving are suppressed. Their mind is divided as soon as their attention is focused on the obsession of their cell phone rather than the road. Cell phone drivers are stretched beyond safe limits when multitasking of driving and talking or texting with a cell phone which then becomes unsafe. Most drivers over-estimate their capability to safely multitask and assuming they have this ability is a hazard. Is it really worth it to endanger yourself or others while driving with a cell phone? Some people don 't realize the danger of this until something happens to them, a family member, or friend of theirs.

There are both cognitive and physical factors that contribute to accidents when drivers talk on their cell phones and/or text behind the wheel. The primary cognitive factor is that an individual’s attention is divided when he or she is paying attention to more than one thing at a time (Goldstein, 2011). For example, a driver’s attention is on the road and perhaps how far the car ahead of him/her is, but at the same time is also trying to read a text message on a cellular device. This divided attention reduces the reaction speed and driving performance of the driver because there are not as many cognitive resources available to focus his/her attention on the most important thing: driving. When the driver is processing

Geoffrey Fowler's "Texting While Walking Isn't Funny Anymore" Article is about how people around the world are getting hurt while using their cell phones and how addictive cell phones can be. People are walking into fountains, constructuion sites, and in front of cars because they are texting while walking. Statistics show that people are getting hurt and smart phone inventors think they have a solution. According to an article, China has already taken action by issueing a fine to people for texting and walking. Other countries might follow China's lead. Texting while walking has become very common and since 2006, emergency visits have tripled. Texting while walking has become a big eye opener in relation to injuries and accidents, and soon it will be illegal to text and walk in certain states."cell phones have taken away something from us too." Cell phones have taken away from how people communicate, children do not go outside to play anymore but perfer electronics devices, and humans have a short attention span when they are using cell phones.

While texting and driving the risks of getting into an accident go up greatly. Per every six seconds you are using your cell phone while driving, of those six seconds, four and a half seconds are spent with your eyes off of the road. Although 1,200 people were surveyed, most admitted that talking on the phone and texting are the two most dangerous things you can do while driving. Eighty one percent of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving. Dialing, talking and listening are all dangerous but most accidents occur when you are talking or listening because more time is spent doing those things than dialing itself. Texting causes a four hundred percent increase in time with your eyes spent off of the road, meaning that texting and driving is more dangerous. While not paying attention to the road many things are occurring and changing that you do not notice since you are not looking or paying attention.

Lately, cell phone distraction while driving has been a hot topic on the radio and television, with people giving their opinion or sharing experiences. Cell phone usage and other distraction are causing an increase in accidents. Text messaging has been around for about a dozen years , with public surveys showing overwhelming agreement that it's a dangerous distraction ( Halsey ).

Cell phones have been proven to be a distraction to people young and old but mostly in teenagers. Driving while distracted is a factor in at least 25% of all car accidents (Nationwide). Teenagers and adults alike believe that they can multitask and text while driving. It is easily possible for your eyes to slip off the road. Therefore, instead of your eyes locking in on your phone they should be locked on watching your speed, the road, and the traffic. At the same time, while

One sunny day on a Houston road, the driver of a pickup truck collided with a church minibus. 13 people died, and the driver admitted he was texting and driving. Yet this happens very often. Over 330,000 car accidents happened from texting while driving in 2015. Distracted driving is very risky, because attention is drawn away from the road,

Driving a vehicle and using a cell phone at the same time is a task that just can not be done safely.

Past studies have shown that pedestrians who used a phone while crossing the street are likely to experience a decrease in situational awareness, attention distraction and unsafe pedestrian behaviours (Nasar & Troyerb,

Does talking on the phone while driving affect the driver? Drivers shouldn’t be able to use phones while driving because it can be extremely hazardous for not only them but their passengers, or others traveling along the same road. If changing a radio station is considered a major distraction to drivers, how is it not a distraction to look down to find your cell phone? Cell phones, have been known to cause wrecks that can even result in fatalities.

Pulling off to the road shoulder to send a text or make a call decreases the peril of crashing, according to Liz Soltan. “Texting while driving is the riskiest type of driver distraction, making drivers 23 times more likely of getting into a safety critical event.” (http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/digital-distraction) Ontario Education Driving School in Waterloo has educated young drivers on the dangers of texting and driving, and how to restrict the use of devices. “Cell phones are right up there with drugs and alcohol as far as causing crashes.” Steve Guarisco said Vice President of OEDS (Ontario Education Driving School). “If you're checking a text (while driving), or worse, writing a text, you might as well have had two or three beers at that moment.” (http://ontarioeducationdrivingschool.com) Looking down for 5 seconds while driving 55 mph to send one text is the length of a one football field without paying attention to the road. (http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/digital-distraction) The life of everyone associated in a texting and driving situation is at risk if the driver does not have the knowledge and understanding on safety. In addition, being able to recognize the smart decision, can decrease the mindset of using the device, and avoid putting people's live at

Would you believe that anyone would make a law about no texting while walking? Crazy right? Well people are trying to argue about enforcing a law to prevent texting while walking! So let’s get started on why not to make this law. To start, Distracted walking has become a serious and dangerous problem in the United States. In this argument distracted walking is considered texting while walking. Some people think the solution is to make it illegal. Others think there are other solutions for solving this problem. Though Honolulu is the first city to make the law, of no distracted walking, doesn’t mean it is a good solution to this problem. There is no law needed against texting and walking.

Using a handheld cell phone while driving is dangerous to the driver themselves for a couple of good reasons. One such reason is that

alone every year. The issue of driving while talking on a cell phone has become serious enough that five states have passed laws prohibiting this type of act and making it a primary offense to do so. Not only are drivers talking behind the wheel, but many have admitted to engaging in even more potentially dangerous behavior with their phones such as text messaging and surfing the internet. A distracted driver is a dangerous one. If you are focused on a conversation and your eyes are not on the road, drivers cannot be expected to make a quick and safe decision should the need for one arise. The behavior of a driver while using a cell phone has been compared to that of one driving while under the influence. Studies have shown that those who use a cell phone while driving are four times more likely to be involved in a crash than those who don’t.