Drunk Driving Consequences

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.

Not only is texting while behind the wheel bad enough itself, many people compare the danger level to drunk driving. Driving while intoxicated at the same time is illegal, just as some believe texting while driving should be as well. Larry Copeland states that after a study was conducted at The University of Utah, it showed that driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08% is equal to texting and driving. If people were more aware of how closely related texting while driving and drunk driving are, it would help to inform all drivers on safety behind the wheel. Not only are distracted drivers harming themselves, yet they are putting every other driver on the road in the same dangerous position without realizing it.

The act of sending electronic messages or texting is easily accessible to anyone that owns a cell phone. Often people are seen with the cell phone in one hand and texting while walking, eating in a restaurant with friends, working or shopping. It has become a part of everyday life. The convenience and the need to stay connected has made texting a useful method of communicating, that has increased dramatically with teenagers. “Adolescents report that texting is the most common way that they stay in contact with friends, sending an average of a hundred texts per day” (Delgado para. 1). This includes texting while driving. The effects of distracted driving from texting include legal penalties, increase in insurance premiums, motor vehicle crashes, and even death. Texting while driving has become a major problem in the United State and a simple LOL can have serious consequences.

Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving. According to Kiernan Hopkins, texting and driving is more likely to cause an accident than drunk driving. He also tells us that since the average speed in the US is 55 mph, taking 5 seconds to read a text in this time means that the driver travels the length of a football field without looking at the road. Officer Wil Sunderland from the Oklahoma City Police Department says the No Texting and Driving Law is working and 94% of people support and obey the law but 74% go against the law. People realize the outcome of texting and driving and know there can be punishment by law, which makes driver's put down their cell phones when the vehicle is in motion. Sunderland also informs us that with the help of Siri, drivers can keep their eyes on the road by using voice commands which can type and send messages, play music, make phone calls and more.

Texters tend to drive across the center line if they make the action of texting while driving (Texting). In Alaska, the price of a fine of driving under the influence is $1,500. A Texting fine appears at $10,000 in Alaska (Kaselkorn). Both actions cost a lot of money, though texting while operating a vehicle keeps getting worse and the prices for the action keeps going up. Humans are twenty three times more likely to crash if people are texting while driving (Kiesbye). Both teenagers and adults admit to texting while behind the wheel (Kaselkorn). Some people will text and drive on a daily basis. Texting while driving makes people tend to speed up, causing danger to other drivers out on the roads

In this age of multitasking, the use of cell phones is combined with assignments like cooking, driving, babysitting, walking, doing college assignments and even eating. Whereas the use of cell phones while doing some chores might be simply annoying, the consequence of using cell phone with driving can be fatal. Recent polls by the Pew Research Center and other researchers show that about fifty to ninety percent young Americans admit using their cell phone while driving. This includes about thirty six percent who said they texted or typed something whiles driving. (Lopresti-Goodman, Rivera, & Dressel, 2012). The practice of using phone particularly texting while driving has increased the number of distracted driving accidents. When the cell phone records of people involved

In 2014, 2,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. This trend is being continued by the younger and newer generation, as distracted driving has been a big temptation for teens. Eighty-six percent of the eighty-two percent of American teens who own cell phones have admitted to either being on a call or responding to a text while driving. It’s even more alarming that as of 2014, seventy-seven percent claim that they are confident that they can handle distractions while driving. Distracted driving is pretty explanatory; the process of being distracted while driving any motorized vehicle. Anyone can be part of a distracted driving incident; it can be the driver, the passengers in the vehicle and even other people in surrounding vehicles. There are a few ways to make sure drivers would be able to drive and give their complete attention to the road, such as educating the public, and restricting the inattentiveness of the driver. However, it is necessary for the states to enforce laws that reduce distracted driving because frequent multitasking can have a negative effect on the brain’s ability to focus, and distracted driving puts the safety of the driver and the people around them at risk.

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

There are several consequences that you may face if you are caught driving while under the influence. The consequences you face depend on whether or not it is your first time being charged with a DUI. Below is a list of some of the possible consequences:

According to the study of the University of Utah texting car drivers are 8 times more likely to crash than a driving simulator. Even though many people don't think texting and driving isn't a big deal it's probably because only less than 20 states prohibit texting while driving. For example one of New York's laws states that drivers can be fined and allows police officers to penalize the driver if spreading on the road.

Texting while driving, which is the equivalent as driving blind for five seconds, has been an issue for about as long as the text message was invented. This activity has caused many accidents across the nation every year and resulted with quite a few fatalities. To this day, 46 states have decided to implement their own law banning texting while driving. This law can only be formed under the State’s authority rather than by our National government. This being a very controversial topic,

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

Nowadays, cellular devices are a necessity for the most people in daily lives. People can take their phone anywhere they want to go. Everyone uses them as a means for communication via voice, text, sound, and video. Text messaging while driving has a severe the negative effect on drivers ability to maintain a central lane position, or more serious those cause can death on the road. Texting while driving can be compared to driving while being drunk. The author asserts that "30.2 million persons aged 21 years or older had driven under the influence of alcohol at least once during the past year." (Dubois, et al). As a result, many accidents have taken place by the most of teenagers and adults people who are driving while being drunk in the United States. Therefore, texting while driving is a growing problem in the United States that should be taken more serious.

Almost 30 people are involved in an alcohol-related crash every day.(DUI foundation) Over the last year drunk driving accident cases have increased, if we make the penalty one year drunk drivers won’t be on the road increasing the risk of car crashes, and it deters them from doing it again if at all. Those who are caught driving after consuming alcohol should lose their driver’s license for at least one year.

The Court described the damage that the country suffers from drunk driving every year as follows: