Is Distracted Driving An Occasion Or A Habit?

Distracted driving; most of us are guilty of it without even knowing it. Distracted driving is doing anything else unrelated to driving while behind the wheel. This could include: using a cell phone, changing the radio station, eating food, and even having a conversation. The most distracting of them all is using a cell phone because it requires the user to manually input information. The laws surrounding texting while driving are far too lenient when compared to laws on drunk driving, yet both can end in a car crash. People texting while driving should face steeper penalties than what is already in place because they are a danger to anyone around them. The small fines are not enough to deter people. While banning cell phones from being allowed in vehicles is not an effective approach to the problem, stricter laws should be put in place to make the roads a safer place. Texting while driving penalties should be treated with a similar severity that DUI charges are. The penalties for texting and driving need to be increased because it would make the roads safer, increase the government’s revenue, and help solve the problem of texting while driving.

In the scholarly journal “Distracted Driving: Prevalence, Problems, and Prevention”, Tiffany Overton, who has an MA and MPH degree, wrote a research report with her colleagues that clearly stated the impact cell phones have on drivers and provided potential solutions to the issue. They begin their report with a short introduction that briefs the acknowledgment on the negative impacts of distracted driving. Continuing on, Overton and her associates outline the topics their research report covers in means of identifying distracted driving and ways to reduce the issue in the United States. They define distracted driving as “eating, applying makeup, reading, smoking, and talking” (Overton), however, “the most prominent activity fuelling research

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.

Enforcement problems arise because the offense is hard to detect except through erratic driving behavior (Gardner, 2010). Traffic stops such as those used to check for seatbelt use may help enforce bans, as officers may ask to check cell phones for evidence of very recent texting activity (Gardner, 2010). Another difficulty in enforcing these laws involves the individual drivers themselves ---many of whom believe laws do not have an effect on them (Sherzan, 2010). Many drivers simply ignore the law because they think they are safe drivers and any possible punishment for a violation will be minimal (Sherzan, 2010). Another reason drivers continue to use cell phones while driving is because they do not fear being prosecuted or convicted of crimes if they are actually caught (Sherzan, 2010). In addition to enforcement issues, statistics seem to indicate there has not been a reduction in the number of crashes in states where such a ban is in place (Sherzan, 2010). The following section will illustrate how cell phone usage contributes to automobile

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.

According to Ashley Gaddis from Counterpoint, “From 1999 to 2008, nearly fifty-two thousand people were killed in car crashes caused by distracted drivers” (n.pag.). Distracted driving started when technology became mobile and handheld. Many people have died and gotten injured from people not paying attention to the road. This problem has been growing as technology advances. Distracted driving is a big problem and there needs to be stronger penalties and laws in place to deter people from distracted driving.

The risks of distracted driving are great and lead to unfathomable results. According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), there are three main types of distracted driving. The first is visual - taking your eyes off of the road. The second is manual- taking your hands off of the wheel, and the third is cognitive - taking your mind off of driving (CDCP). While all of these exist amongst distracted drivers, the major distraction for most people is visual and manual. For example, whether an individual is changing the radio or the most common and dangerous thing, texting; particularly because texting involves all three forms. It involves

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 a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you,” (Heit). This specific quote shows how the results of distracted driving not only affects you, but also those around you. Distracted driving has been a serious concern for many years. This subject has been an issue because of the dangers it brings to the safety of others. One major type of distracted driving includes texting and driving. which is becoming more popular in today’s society because many have cell phones. Another type of distracted driving is drinking and driving, this continues to stay a topic for many years. Although drinking and driving and texting and driving carry many similarities with the

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.

There is an undeniable familiar site as we drive down our roads daily. Distracted drivers pose a risk to all those on the road ways. According to the US Department of Transportation National Highway of Traffic Safety Administration, on September 30, 2009, the problem of distracted driving reached the attention of the highest levels of government when President Obama issued an Executive Order prohibiting Federal employees from texting while driving government vehicles or while using a government supplied cell phone while driving any vehicle. U.S. Department of Transportation agencies have issued similar directives. Examples given include the “Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) banned commercial truck and bus drivers from

Distracted driving is when people concurrently operate a vehicle and engage in non-driving actions that could redirect their attention away from the task at hand, driving. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2009, 450,000 people were wounded and 5,500 people died in car accidents in which distracted driving was a component (Ferdinand, Menachemi, 2014). Although cell phones have become very popular in recent years, a vehicle is not the place for them because the driver could injure himself/herself or another person. They could also get into a car accident, or they could even be pulled over by the police because it is illegal in many states.

Though, four years prior, the Florida Department of Transportation had addressed distracted driving as one of its pressing concerns. This leads many to question the FDOT’s actual concerns of the matter. The law is a secondary law, meaning that for the violation to even apply, a driver must be pulled over for a separate traffic infraction. With the amount of deaths caused by distracted driving every year, and a survey in 2010 that showed sixty-four percent of the surveyees designating distracted driving as the most serious hazard on the road, many question who the law truly benefits, the people, or the state? If the state of Florida has truly cared about the barring of distracted driving, why hasn’t it joined other states such as Nevada, California, Connecticut, and more, who have all banned texting and

Advancing technology in wireless communications is presenting a growing concern for distracted driving due to using cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. Although distracted driving accidents and fatalities have risen in the last decade, placing a ban on the use of a cell phone or other electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle as some states have will not resolve the issue. In fact a ban on cell phones and driving may very well increase the accident and fatality rate because drivers are now more involved with concealing their illegal behaviors. More citizen participation and drivers safety management should be more carefully considered in a transpiring situation such as this. More Americans should be

in the first place, why such a big fuss over using a phone while driving. Tim Nelson reports “Traffic experts say it takes only about seven seconds to send a text when you're behind the wheel, and that may have been all it took to kill Kelly Phillips; she was 17 when she died three years ago [in 2007], after a crash near Belle Plaine; Kelly was in the back seat. Her friend was driving and either texting or using an iPod at the same time.” (Minnesota Public Radio) This is why we should care a growing epidemic all because of people who play with their phones while driving. The new law need to be made so that no family has to go through a LOL text killing their loved one.