Thesis: I believe that using electronics while driving is a dangerous action and many people are dying because of it due to the fact that their attention to driving is altered. Refutation: It is true that using other devices such as speakerphones and car kits are not as dangerous as texting while driving. According to Consumer Electronics Association, using speakerphones allows drivers to take calls without using their hands and the device has very few buttons to avoid distractions. Car kits are also preferred because they come installed into vehicles so the driver does not have to worry about taking their hands off the steering wheel to answer a call. Many arguments state that using hands-free technology is more dangerous than texting while
5. Driving while talking on a cell phone is as dangerous as driving drunk. According to
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.
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
Many people, most being new drivers, believe that they are capable of giving full attention to the road while sending text messages simultaneously. Texting and driving is becoming more of a dangerous each year. In June of 2011, over 196 billion text messages were sent and/or received, which is up almost 50% more than in June of 2009 (“What” 1). While many people argue that texting and driving is not that bad, statistics do not lie. Texting and driving creates a risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted, drivers who use a hand-held device are 4 times more likely to get into accident harsh enough to injure themselves, and 40% of all American teens say that they have been in a car with someone who used a cell phone and put people in danger. Several cars today have hands free technology. Many of these newer model cars are equipped with technology that can connect your cell phone to your radio. Thus, making texting and driving more dangerous than driving while taking a phone call. When you are on the phone over the car, you do not have to look down at the screen to type anything or read anything. When you go to reply to a text message, this usually requires you to use on or both of your hands. If you are more advanced at texting, you might only need the use of one hand. Someone not so advanced may use one hand to hold the phone and the other hand to type the letters. If you have to use both of your hands to text when you are driving, then 9 times out of 10 you are using your knee to drive the car. Whether you are advanced or not so advanced, either way it goes you are taking a hand off of the wheel. In the event that someone takes their hands off of the wheel while they are driving, it will be harder for them to control the car. Lack of physical control and your reaction time can cause your
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.
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%)
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
The most recent research that the author has is from 2008 and in order for this essay to be prominent it should be redrafted and updated research should be added due to technological advances and laws that have been put into place regarding cell phone use while driving. I disagree with the author because in my experiences I have found it considerably easier to use my phone in the car hands free rather than holding it. In my opinion, it is naïve to believe that drivers in general are not going to use their phones at all while driving, and it is safer to supply people with the safe and unassailable solution of hands-free communication. Although not touching my phone is the safest and best answer to the dangers of texting and driving, in most instances, it is unrealistic and quixotic, so although Cruz’s essay was well meaning, I’ll take the more pragmatic approach to this and continue to do what I am doing, using my phone minimally and hands-free during my time behind the
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.
Two studies done by the Texas Transportation Institution of Transportation shows the dangers of texting and driving along with the addition of using hands-free technology while driving. (2,5). In the results of the texting and driving study drivers were known to have a 3 second delay to response task given to them while driving for the study (3). For the second study on the use of hands-free technology while driving, results gave a conclusion of “ Additionally, it took driver's longer to complete the same texting task using the voice-to-text applications than it did when texting manually”(2). Even the solution of hands-free technology given to us by phone companies didn’t work against the dangers of delayed response times and distracted driving times. Those who are affected by distracted driving often face emotional, physical and mental pain when involved in a car crashed related to the use of a cell phone while
We all know and agree using our cell phones while driving is very dangerous but still it is very common. Based on a survey 98% of people who contributed to the survey say texting and driving is practically dangerous, however, still 75% of those people text while they are driving. This shows that there is a big inconsistency between what we believe and do.
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
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.
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.