On July 23, Washington state’s newest distracted-driving law went into effect in an attempt to reach target zero. According to Washington Traffic Safety Commission,
“Washington aims to end traffic deaths and serious injury by the year 2030.” As of 2016,
Washington was nowhere near this goal.
According to Washington State Department of Transportation, distraction was involved in over 12,300 crashes statewide in 2016, 79 of which were fatal. Cellphone use was specifically linked to more than 700 of those crashes. Last year, 22,300 drivers were examined by the traffic commission at more than 300 different intersections, and research found that 9.2 percent of drivers were distracted in some form, and 5.6 percent were distracted by a phone.
Governor
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Previously, the law does not necessarily ban texting while stopped at a traffic light; the law was previously meant to stop phones from being held at the ear.
While these changes may seem strict, there are a few exceptions. Drivers are still allowed to use their phone is they are contacting 911 or another emergency service, if they are parked outside of the flow of traffic, or starting a GPS or music before a trip. Bluetooth is still OK, and so is starting a device with a single touch.
So what’s the cost if you’re caught using a device behind the wheel? The first ticket for a distracted-driving offence, if electronic devices are involved, will cost at least $136.
Per infraction, the cost will increase. A second ticket within five years of the first will run at
$234. What hasn’t changed is that drivers who are eating, drinking, smoking, reading, or doing their makeup in a way that interferes with driving could see a secondary $99 ticket.
In addition to these fines, driver’s insurance companies will now be alerted of infractions related to cell phone use, which was not done under the previous law. With new technology emerging, applications such as Snapchat and Instagram have become
Nearly 6,000 people are killed connecting to the outcome of cell phone use while driving, according to Edmunds.com (7). Texting and talking on the phone throughout the time that a person is driving can have deadly consequences, but people still don’t seem to want to give up risking their life. There are many issues that can happen while on the road related to the usage of cell phones. It is important to stop people from looking at their phones while driving, because it is extremely distracting and not safe. Even hands free devices are not as safe as they seem to be. There have to be consequences for people using their cell phones while driving in order to improve the people’s safety. According to Edmunds.com, cell phones are known as distractions everywhere in the world and have created several concerns to several countries (9).
Being the cause of a cell phone related accident can leave a person unable to handle the consequences of their actions. There is great concern regarding the dangers of distracted driving. This is made evident by legislation that has been put in place in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (2011), nationwide, 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have enacted texting bans. Current data from the National Safety Council (2010) suggest that each year, at least 1.6 million traffic accidents (28% of all crashes) in the United States are caused by drivers talking on cell phones or texting. The U.S. Department of Transportation (2011) states that nine states, the District of Columbia, and
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that there were 302,307 motor vehicle crashes in Ohio in 2015. These crashes resulted in 1,110 fatalities. 22 of these fatalities were attributed to drivers who were distracted by their phones, texting, emailing or other electronic communications. 17 of the fatalities were due to drivers who were distracted by things inside their vehicle other than smartphones while 13 fatalities were the result of drivers who were distracted by things outside their
But even with being able to use hands free devices, drivers still tend to text and take phone calls whist in motion, and at any given time of the day 800,000 drivers are using hand-held phone while driving. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), and there was one fact that really made me realize how much of a problem
All over the United States people are driving while distracted by one thing or another.
In Florida, April is dedicated to raising awareness for distracted driving and its devastating effects. Advertisements, public service announcements, and events were planned by the government and supporting organizations to show the public just how horrible distracted driving can be (Florida Distracted Driving Awareness Month – April 2016). A specific example on how the government is actively discouraging distracted driving is the “Save A Life Tour” in Gulf and Franklin county schools. “This school-based program involves many teen-oriented activities designed to increase awareness of the seriousness distracted driving behind the wheel. The event includes professional presenters, videos featuring families impacted by real distracted driving experiences, and Save A Life Distracted Driving simulators to demonstrate how a split-second delay can create fatal consequences (Distracted Driving Program).” Programs such as these further prove that the government is taking preventative measures to lower distracted driving’s prevalence in Florida
A fine of between $300 and $500, up to 15 days in jail, or both.
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.
The fine for texting and driving in Michigan is $100 for your first offense and $200 for your second offense. Considering that the average American makes about $850 dollars per week, people don’t seem too threatened. In Alaska it’s $10,000 and 1 year in prison for your first offense. Now you’re probably thinking that fine is insane, but if the police didn’t pull you over and stop you, you could end up in jail for 20 years plus a $250,000 fine for involuntary manslaughter instead of 1 year. All fines for texting and driving should be raised about as high as Alaska’s so then people would stop attempting to use their smartphone while driving. I can’t say enough how dangerous it is to be distracted by your cellphone while driving. Even if you’re texting hands-free, you’re still distracted from arriving safely at your destination. Car crashes from texting and driving are criticized to be the victim’s fault so to prevent the victim from committing this risky function we should bring more attention to the
Within all age groups the number on record for the year of 2009 for people killed in car accidents caused by distracted driving was 5,474 and the amount of people injured was 448,000. (“Driving Distracted”) Drivers don’t understand why the number raises so much by just being distracted but studies show that operating a hand held device when driving makes you four times more likely to be in a car accident that will be serious or be fatal. (“Driving Distracted”)
1. The National Safety Council estimates that at least 1.6 million crashes each year involve drivers using cell phones and texting and drivers who use a cell phone – either handheld or hands-free – are four times more likely to be involved in a crash.
The site reports 3,154 U.S. deaths in 2013. Laws vary by state. Many have implemented regulations against mobile-phone use behind the wheel. Teens on cell phones aren’t the only culprits, though. Parents who keep tabs on their kids’ mobile phone use while driving often text behind the wheel, too.
The National Safety Council states that “vehicle crashes are under reported. They estimate a 26% of crashes involves talking and texting.” This report is based on estimation since the only way the NSC can collect information is either for witnesses or self-reports. There is a possibility that this estimation might be higher, but
Have you ever walked with your phone in a occupied street and some said lights red towards you? A law banning texting while walking is need because people need to be fewer distracted pedestrians so their is less death. There's so many interesting things on earth but our brains can only handle one thing at a time, there has been about 1200 deaths by walking and texting from distracted pedestrians since 2 years ago just imagen how many have been killed this year,some states are beginning to ban texting and walking hawaii was the first to ban it. The opponent has to go make a light on the ground for people to walk but that's a waste of money when they already have a light to tell them to go they need to look up to see it and if they do
“In 2014, alcohol-impaired driving accounted for 9,967 deaths, which is 31% of overall driving fatalities”