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 has been a problem for a long time. It has grown in the recent years because technology has become mobile and smaller. Ashley Gaddis from Counterpoint says, “A 2013 poll conducted by AT&T found that half of commuters admitted to texting while driving” she also says, “By 2007, one in six fatal car crashes were caused by a distracted driver, resulting in over 5,900 deaths” (n.pag.). Distracted driving can be texting while driving or talking on the phone while you are driving. There are some opposers that think that hands free technology is a good way to avoid distracted driving. Geoff Tyler states that, “Hands free devices that are suitable for use in the car can make holding a phone conversation as close as technologically possible to holding a conversation with a passenger” (n.pag.). Even though hands free technology helps you talk and text easier, you still have to take your eyes of the road to use it.
Automobile crashes as a result of texting while driving is an epidemic that has taken over the nation in the past years. In today’s society, people have become more and more dependent on technology as everyday uses. How many can honestly say that they have text and driven? How many have had to swerve, stop on the brakes or almost gotten into an accident because of it? Texting while driving is the most common thing that almost everyone has done or seen. The main issue and threat is that people think they can safely type on their phone while driving; while others simply do not think there is any real danger with that act. Today, it is all about convenience; but the cost for this convenience can be very deadly. Studies show that any
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.
5. Driving while talking on a cell phone is as dangerous as driving drunk. According to
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
Hand held devices should be made illegal while driving in all states. Distracted driving is becoming a major epidemic across America when it comes to the number of accidents and fatalities that attributes to it. What exactly is distracting driving? It is any activity that would divert the attention of the driver away from the task at hand, which is driving. It could be as simple as changing the radio station, eating, grooming, or in this case texting or using your hand held device. Regulations regarding the use of cell phones while driving should be standardized across the United States. The number of accidents that occur on a daily basis by people who are using their hand held devices while driving are not paying attention
2. According to a cross over study conducted by McEvoy in 2005, a driver's use of a cell phone up to 10 min before a crash is associated with a fourfold increased likelihood of crashing, and risk is raised irrespective of whether a hands-free device is used. An observational study by Wilson, Fang, & Wiggins in 2003 shows thatcompared to drivers who do not use cell phones, drivers talking on cell phones miss twice as many traffic signals, are more likely to swerve into the next lane (46%), tailgate (23%), have close calls (18%), and run red lights (10%)
3. Studies show that texting while driving increases your chances of crashing by 20 times. Even using your phone in a hands-free mode is dangerous since it's a "cognitive distraction" which may decrease driving performance. In fact, texting and other distracted driving account for nearly 80% of all automobile accidents. The effects of car accidents can be devastating. Crashes may results in death and catastrophic injuries, including brain injuries, paralysis and severe burns.
Its been about a hundred and thirty-nine years since Alexander Graham Bell made the first phone. The cellphone was made to replace the phone and its has become poplar. The progression of test messaging and social media sites through the more advanced technology has more people on their phones, becoming one of the largest distractions. Whether people think they can safely type on their phones while driving or just do not think there is any real danger in the act is a misconception. Being on the phone while driving is dangerous and needs to be
Drivers assume that hand free devices are safe to use. The main advantage to avoid using cell phone during driving is ensuring safety of driver, vehicle, and other people driving on the road. By making conversation, it is pertinent to highlight that hands-free phones have also similar negative impacts during driving; both distracts attention, although hands-free cell phones do not require manual
It seems as though it would be fairly obvious that talking and texting on a cell phone while driving is careless and extremely dangerous not only to the driver but also to others to others driving on the road as well. Cell phones cause distraction while trying to drive, and people are no longer just talking on their cell phones, they are also text messaging, and surfing the worldwide web. Many believe that hands-free devices could be a solution to this problem, but the fact is hands free devices are just as dangerous to use while driving as hand held cell phones. Because of this cell phones should be prohibited in order to help prevent accidents.
The use of cell phone is very dangerous for drivers while driving. The drivers are supposed to be alert and concentrated to their ambient surrounding. The use of cell phone catch their attention and make them less alert to their surrounding which can lead to serious destruction. The use of cell phone is more dangerous than the use of alcohol while driving. Because it took half a second longer for a cell phone users to react than a normal person and one third of a second longer than a persons in drunken condition.
As technology advances, people are relying on it more and more. Cell phones have literally become a necessity. Every day on the roads, people are driving and using their cell phones to talk, text, browse the internet, use GPS, etc. According to the International Telecommunication Union, “the number of mobile-cellular subscriptions worldwide is approaching the number of people on earth. Mobile cellular subscriptions will reach almost 7 billion by end 2014, corresponding to a penetration rate of 96%” (3). If the number of cell phone subscribers reaches the world’s population by the end of 2014, almost every driver will have a cell phone in their car and consequently, more drivers will be using them while driving. Can cell phone use while driving affect driving performance and safety? The answer is yes.
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.