Driving While Using Cellphones While Vehicles

Driving Us to Distraction Summary-Response Paper The essay, ‘Driving us to Distraction’ by Gilbert Cruz is about the dangers of hands-free technology while driving. The author argues that while driving and talking on a cell phone is deadly, using hands-free technology is not that much better of a choice. He supports his argument by citing a 2003 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study that found cellphone use to be a serious hazard on the road and by mentioning a series of simulator tests conducted in 2007 by a psychology professor at the University of Utah named David Strayer.

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.

“Distracted driving refers to any nondriving activity that takes motorists ' attention away from the safe operation of their vehicles” (Leone). Every time a driver gets in a vehicle and decides to use a cell phone to have a conversation, either talking or texting, they put themselves and others lives in danger. The convenience a cell phone and the capabilities they offer have made them a substantial distraction and a cause of significant source of vehicle accidents and fatalities. There are three different types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. Cell phone use is the most dangerous distraction because it involves all three different types of distraction and plays a part in the increasing issue of distracted driving. Even

First and foremost, the risk of using a phone while driving is a big chance of an accident more than what the people think. According to the Harvard study “Texting while driving and other forms of distracted driving are responsible for more than 1 million crashes, 400,000 injuries, and 3,000 deaths in the U.S. each year—and those numbers are likely to increase with the proliferation of in-car infotainment systems. (Center for Health Communication)” In a Harvard study asserts that is every day some families in the United States have missing father, mother, or kids and someday could be myself or someone of my relatives stays the next person of injuries or might be deaths, the

“A distracted driver may fail to see up to 50% of the available information in the driving environment. You may look but not actually “see” what is happening. Focus of the driver is not on the road or traffic and it becomes difficult to handle phone and vehicle at one time. Cell phones during driving also reduce the mental capacity of drivers as they fail to concentrate on minor or major activities happening around them. Cell phones distract drivers' attention resulting in comparatively slow response to traffic signals and other related traffic events. Studies have shown the fact that breaking reaction time is also slower while talking on a cell phone during driving. The perception, vision, general awareness, and concentration of the driver are impacted while communicating on a cell phone during driving. Especially during bad weather or driving on slippery roads, drivers engaging in conversation pay less attention to these areas increasing risks of fatal accidents.

Nobody would deny technology makes our lives much simpler, but such a device can endanger your life. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute says those texting while driving are 23 more times likely to have an accident than those who do not. Also, those dialing on the phone are 2.8 times more likely to be in an accident. Ten states and Washington D.C. ban the use of handheld cell phones by drivers, and 32 states and D.C ban new drivers from using them.

Although some people say believe that cell phones are good in case of an emergency, the implementation of cell phones is distracting drivers and leading to increases in crash percentages, elevates the percentage of teen deaths and influxes in insurance rates of teen drivers. Distracted driving is a growing problem in today's society. It causes countless deaths every year. This problem has progressed over the years due to the progress in mobile devices. The advance of cell phones has made distracted driving even more of a problem. Texting and driving is a very common problem because of the progression of cell phones. Many people think that five seconds is the minimal amount of time that drivers take away from the road when they are trying to

1. The National Safety Council estimates that at least 1.6 million crashes each year involve drivers using cell phones and texting and drivers who use a cell phone – either handheld or hands-free – are four times more likely to be involved in a crash.

In todays world almost everyone owns a cellphone. About 80% of teens between the ages or 16 and 17 have reported they have talked or texted while behind the wheel (Moreno,2014). Texting while driving is dangerous because it causes a distraction to drivers and takes them away from the road. Using a cellphone whether it be texting or talking could lead to a accident and or possibly death. According to a study taken by The National Safety Council's annual injury and fatality report in 2014 it showed that almost 25% of car accidents involved the use of a cellphone (Kratsas,2014).

In 2010, NHTSA recorded that driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes, with 3,092 people killed. There were 416, 000 injuries resulted from crashes. Those are 3,092 lives that could be walking today and 416,000 people that didn’t have to go through physical rehab if someone wasn’t on their phone texting. For some reason laws don’t stop people from performing this hazard. There are still people who think they can be on their phones while driving in places that have outlawed it. With new innovations for cell phones we are able to do things more easily, but driving isn’t one of them. The more we become more attached to our cell phones, the more the rates of accidents will increase even with laws. UM asked a designated group of teenagers to go 24 hours without a phone, and 70% could not do it. The more attached we are to our phones the deadlier it can

If you are driving at 55mph for 5 seconds in that amount of time you could cross a football field. People don’t understand how dangerous distracted driving really is. All states should have some sort of legal parameters of what happens when you get caught using your cell phone while driving. People should get a stronger/ harsher punishment for the use of a cellular device while driving. People are way more impaired when you are distracted and driving than you are drinking and driving.

Other drivers on the road take notice of drivers on their cell phones whether they want to or not because of the hazards they create. Erratic driving is something that we all get quite worked up about, especially if it makes us late or is otherwise a direct inconvenience to us. Scott Clark, veteran web business strategist and the owner of the consultancy BuzzMaven Labs, says “[He] came within inches of a bad accident because of a young driver being on the phone and crossing three lanes of traffic at 45 mph.” Drivers are also tailgating you because of, again, the inability to maintain a constant speed because they are on the phone. Clark warns of “[…] the rusty red Camaro [tailgating] the minivan full of kids.”

I have been driving numerous hours lately, sixty to be exact so I can get my driver’s license in a couple of weeks. While spending so much time on the roads recently, I have noticed tons of people distracted on their cell phones. In fact, a couple have almost run me off the road while drifting into my lane. I also have many friends that use their cell phones when driving, all of which are inexperienced drivers. This all makes me very nervous now that I am going to be a driver myself. I often hear about automobile accidents that are caused because someone was using their cell phone. In fact, a lady was killed in my hometown last year because a man admitted to texting while driving. There are many groups that advocate for no texting while driving, which experts say is a bigger risk for distraction, because it takes your attention away from the road longer. Some of these groups are: “U.S. Department of Transportation/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Impact Teen Drivers, National Safety Council, Drop It and Drive, and End Distracted Driving which was created by the parents of Casey Feldman after she was killed in 2009 by a distracted driver” (CellControl). If you look at the statistics with good reason, you can assume that cell phones are the cause. “U.S. fatalities from traffic accidents rose 7.2% last year to 35,092—the largest increase in 50 years—and distracted driving played a role in 10% of those deaths, according National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Driving in general can be hazardous. Driving and having such a distraction as a cell phone at ear, or ringing somewhere in a car, is ten times more dangerous. Not surprisingly, drivers who use a cell phone while driving perceive cell phone use by others as less of a threat to their safety as do non-users. A huge number of accidents caused by talking on a cell phone. During the last 5 years texting has become insanely popular. It’s a great and convenient tool because people don’t have to call person to just say ‘ok’ on that dinner invitation. The worst part is that many people still think that texting while driving just that ‘ok’ is ok. Unfortunately, even with traffic police enforcing those ‘no cellphone’ laws, individuals still neglect those simple safety concerns. People need to start understanding themselves how dangerous it is.

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.