Effects Of Distracted Driving

“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

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 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.

In Canada there are several different ways civilians manage to harm themselves while driving vehicles. The occurrence of a vehicle disturbance not only causes harm to the drivers involved, but also puts the surrounding environment at further risk. Understanding the causes to distracted driving is crucial for the safety of Canadians, and can help prevent millions of dollars in damage. The invention of the car has increased in popularity within society, resulting in the creation of several different models of cars. Each new model has made attempts to address distracted driving. Through additional attention to case studies involving distracted driving, we can predict driving is caused from use of drugs and alcohol , use of technology/electronics,

Through the improvement and enactment of primary vs secondary laws and the enforcement of the former, would help minimize the number of accidents and fatalities. Ferdinand et al (2014) concluded, “Our analyses indicate that primarily enforced texting laws are associated with fatality reductions among younger individuals, both drivers and nondrivers [sic]” (p. 1375). By enabling law enforcement to better enforce a primary law that bans the act of texting while driving, the high number of fatal accidents would decline. But, some, if not most people nowadays, particularly the younger generation, would not respond as well to heavily enforced laws with accompanying fines. So, there must be a more attractive, extralegal option to discourage those who continue to tempt fate and drive distracted.

Distracted driving is an increasing problem in the United States and among younger drivers. According to reports, distracted driving is similar to drunk driving because it diverts the person’s attention away from driving. Every year, thousands of people die from distracted driving. With laws, education, and campaigns could reduce the amount of deaths per year ("Facts and Statistics").

In modern Society Technology is increasingly prevalent. With 82% of 16 year olds owning a cell phone the risks of use behind the wheel are increasing monumentally. According to research, even using a hands-free device to talk does not completely reduce the risk of getting into an accident. According to the Highway Safety Association people using a cell phone while driving are 23 times more likely to get in an accident. Studies show that humans are only able to multitask to a certain point and while behind the wheel the risks are just too high (Copeland). The majority legislators understand the hazards of phone use in a car, but continuously refuse to ban and create laws to prevent it. The statistics back up the hazards of distracted driving yet the government refuses to prevent the danger.

Distracted driving is one of the fastest growing problems in the United States.   It is starting to be considered as serious as drunk driving based on the dangerous outcomes.  According to the Department of Transportation (2012), “distracted driving was a cause of roughly 450,000 accident-related injuries and nearly 5,500 fatalities in 2009 alone” (para. 1). Drivers who allow themselves to become distracted while driving are not only endangering themselves, but other innocent bystanders.

They walk in front of cars and into street signs, falling off curbs and walking into tree limbs. They are distracted pedestrians who, while texting, talking on the phone, listening to music or even reading, have sustained serious injuries, some of which fatal.

“Don’t do what I do” is something I began to hear a lot of when I learned how to drive. By the example my mother was setting, only one kind of mistake would warrant it. My mother would roll through stop signs and speed like it was nobody’s business. I wouldn’t hear a peep about it. Any time her phone came out on the road though, you could be sure there would be a “Don’t do what I do”. It wasn’t just my mother either. My father, and my grandparents constantly threw this line out. They knew that they shouldn’t do it, but they couldn’t help themselves, and that sends a worse message than condoning the use of a phone while driving. It was watching them make the same mistakes over and over again with little remorse that made me promise to never drive while distracted.

Turning off one’s cell phone while driving is a good way to not be tempted to use it. Although it is inevitable to want to change a radio station or speak to a passenger in the car, a driver should do so in moderation so that their main focus will still be driving. Currently 46 of the 50 states have banned texting and driving, though how many states legitimately enforce this ban? The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that texting while driving is responsible for approximately 1.6 million accidents every year, which is 25% of all driving accidents (U.S. Dept. of Transportation N.A.). During the day, an estimated 660,000 drivers are using cellphones while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010 across America. Of this estimation, how many drivers are pulled over and given a ticket? The first offense, in New Jersey, texting while driving consequence is a fine of $200-$400, not including legal fees. Only on the third offense does a driver receive a possible suspended license in addition to $600-$800 fine and 3 motor vehicle points (NJ Dept. of Law and Public Safety N.A). By a third offense, one could suspect that a driver could have already caused an unreported accident due to distracted

Texting and driving not only influences the people in the accident, but at the same time, their family and friends moreover. Forty percent of teens in America admit they have been in a moving vehicle where the driver used a cell phone (“The Dangers”). The vehicles colliding is just the beginning of all the misery that comes from this atrocious choice. The victims’ families also have to deal with the greatest tragedy of all, losing a loved one. Just sending one quick message increases the crash risk 23 times than if you were undistracted (“The Dangers”). The optimum method to hinder people from using their phone is to store it in a place where it’s inaccessible. That is just one method, however, there are a few more ways to keep people from

Today in our world, technology is running our generation. People are using their phones in the wrong areas, they were not made to be distractions and cause wrecks to be taken. A lot of people today do not realize is about 40 percent of the wrecks that occur in the world have to do with taking their eyes off of the road for too long. Measures need to be taken to decrease the number of wrecks per year. Although people believe texting and driving should not be finable, people do not realize the injuries/ deaths involved, what the distraction on the road can cause, and enforcement also includes a behavior change.

“It’s the number one killer of teens” (Clark, 2013). A war is waging on throughout the streets of America. Everyday people risk their lives by driving. The enemy? Texting while driving. It is the act of composing, sending, or reading text messages while behind the wheels of a running vehicle. Driving under this influence is extremely careless and dangerous to others and is likely to cause accidents resulting in injuries or deaths. This problem is on the rise because the only ones with the power to make an impact against ending this war are law makers and law enforcement. The truth of the matter is law officials are losing the battle against people sending text messages while driving a car on the road. Law officials are mulling over the

To start off and elaborate more on the subject, distracted driving does not just affect your driving, but it also affects the way you focus and think. A study that was conducted by Marcel Just and Tim Keller has shown that the driver’s focus decreases when being spoken to in the article “How the Brain Reacts”. For example, In the article, it says that “listening comprehension tasks drew mental resources away from driving” (Just and Keller, Paragraph 2,). The reason why listening to basic sentences drew mental resources away when you drive, is because the driver’s brain needs to process language. If listening to sentences and answering true or false questions disorients driving, then, in theory, other basic activities in a car can cause the