Technological advancements with cell phones have drastically improved information access that we have today. Applications loaded on a smart phone can access the internet, social media sites, video phone calls, texts and place a simple phone call. This access is unrestrictive and available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, with one exception, never to be used while you are operating a motor vehicle. The use of a cell phone while operating a vehicle places the user and all others on the road in danger, and should be made illegal in all states, by any driver. Currently there are 49 states and U.S Territories that have some type of law that restricts the use of a phone while driving (Distraction). Each state has implemented legislation differently, though, resulting in dissimilar laws and methods of enforcement by police across the country. Most states currently outlaw the use of texting on a device, while driving, but these can be either a primary or secondary law and according to the age of the driver. A primary law being one that you can be stopped directly for using a phone, while a secondary law, an officer must observe some other offense first, like speeding. This ambiguity in laws leads to confusion to drivers and the faulty logic that using your phone to text is not that dangerous, because if it were, it would be illegal everywhere. The National Safety Council estimates that over 28% of all crashes are a result of distracted drivers, with over 200,000 accidents
Texting while driving puts everyone in danger because it takes your attention away from the task of driving. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) in 2015 there were 3,477 deaths and another 391,000 injuries caused by distracted driving in the United States, and that’s just in one year. While this
Using a handheld cell phone could be one of the deadliest decisions you could make while operating a motor vehicle. The dangers and impact of using a cell phone while behind the wheel are numerous. One of the main reasons people still use their cell phones while driving is that there is no consistency in the laws across the country. Certain states have legislation that bans cell phone use, while other states only ban certain usage situations. Tough federal legislation is the only way to decrease the use of handheld cell phones while driving. The tougher the laws are, the less likely people will be to use
Furthermore, ‘texting in cars and trucks causes over 3,000 deaths and 330,000 injuries per year as stated by a Harvard Center for risk study’ (Hanson n.p.). Just imagine all the lives that could be saved from deaths or injuries if people stop texting while driving because it is a major distraction for them. There belief is that they can multitask, but the sad reality is that the brain cannot do that. The brain has to focus in a particular task at a time. In order to do things right or correctly. Pennings a highway patrol helped demonstrate teens that texting while driving is a dangerous action. He made several so called “ Professional Texters” pass several obstacles while answering text messages and the results were not pleasing at all, cones were flying. The questions asked were not hard, yet they still manage to make the driver lose focus from driving. This is why implementing a rigorous law would come in handy. People will reconsider the thought of many things while being in their vehicles such as texting,eating and drinking, watching videos, putting makeup or grooming, etc. The states have not yet implemented a good law they only prohibit it during school zones or if a police officer sees you, but that is not enough.
First of all texting while driving is a dangerous and risky thing to do in our society. Texting while driving is illegal in almost all states. People are realizing how dangerous it can be and making it illegal. In an article called distracted driving only two states, Arizona and Montana had no bans on cell phones while driving and only one state had a partial ban which was Missouri. Everybody else had a full ban on texting and driving. In an article called 10 Programmatic Reasons that will make you stop texting and driving today, it said “As the correlation between auto accidents and texting while driving escalates, many municipalities and states are passing legislation making it illegal to text and drive.” This basically is explaining how texting while driving is becoming illegal in almost every state. The punishment for the first couple of times will just be a $100 fine but will increase if you're a repeat offender.. But do you really want to spend $100 on a fine when you could spend it on a new pair of shoes or your kid? Texting while driving is illegal and you can be fined.
During 2012-2015, more than 13,000 traffic deaths nationwide were due to distracted driving. It is believed that distracted drivers are 23 times more likely to get into a traffic accident as compared to those who are completely focused on the road.
All over the United States people are driving while distracted by one thing or another.
First, With so many examples of times people were harmed or even worse died from texting while driving is countless. We don’t have time to go through each time of course but there’s one example I can recall right now. In 2007 Hillary Coltharp began texting
Almost everyone with a driver’s license has heard about distractions causing motor vehicle accidents. Distracted driving is indeed the culprit, but the calamities that occur are not accidents. Unpredictable events qualify as accidents, the consequences of distracted driving are predictable and since car crashes are predictable they are preventable.
According to the study of the University of Utah texting car drivers are 8 times more likely to crash than a driving simulator. Even though many people don't think texting and driving isn't a big deal it's probably because only less than 20 states prohibit texting while driving. For example one of New York's laws states that drivers can be fined and allows police officers to penalize the driver if spreading on the road.
Many people are coming together to bring awareness to this ongoing problem. Supporters of bans on texting while driving assert that texting motorists pose a significant danger not only to themselves but to countless innocent drivers, passengers and pedestrians throughout the United States. Texting while driving impairs one's ability to drive as much as being drunk does and no one would ever argue that drunk-driving laws are unnecessary. Supporters also point to polling data that show overwhelming support for making texting while driving illegal. There has been reports of the government wanting to pass laws to ban using your cell phone while
Being distracted while driving is incredibly dangerous. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes in 2012. That means 3,328 people were killed due to drivers being distracted. The average text takes the driver 4.6 seconds to read, that means that for 4.6 seconds that driver's eyes are off the road. That is thousands of people who did not get to return home to their families that day over 4.6
There is a total of 47 states who have completely banned texting and driving, but that does not solve anything. According to the national traffic highway association, 10 Million american people use their cell phones on the road a day. This is very sad because all of those 10 million people do not realize that they are putting themselves and others in danger. All of those 10 million people do not realize that texting and driving takes away your visual, manual, and cognitive attention off the road. For visual; it takes your eyes off the road for a fair amount of time. For manual; it takes your hands (or hand) off of the wheel. For cognitive; it takes away your focus off the road making it easier for you to miss important events during driving that might cause an accident. For example; if you were driving at only 55 mph and were to take your eyes off the road for 5 seconds, that is equivalent to driving the length of a football field without even looking! In the first sentence of this paragraph, 47 states were mentioned, but not stated. More statistics on those states are coming up in the next paragraph.
Using a cell phone while driving, whether to talk or text can be a distraction. Many states, including Tennessee have banned texting while driving according to the American Economic Journal, “vehicular fatality data from across the United States and standard difference-in-differences techniques, bans appear moderately successful at reducing single-vehicle, single-occupant accidents if bans are universally applied and enforced as a primary offense” (Abouk & Scott 2013). Therefore, making texting while driving illegal, is not reducing car related crashes contributed to
Imagine this, you are driving and you are a couple of blocks away from your house. You hear a ding coming from your phone, and glance down to check the message. In just a couple of seconds you look up to see a young child running across the street chasing a ball. You try to slam on your brakes but it is too late. Texting while driving is a matter of life and death. First of all, it's not safe. You are endangering innocent people around you. You could run a red light or a stop sign. You could carelessly run into a sign or pole or even bump into a sidewalk. Even more hazardous, you could run into another car on the road. You may not see someone crossing the road and injure or kill them. Just one little glance can change everything. You should
There are laws all over the US on texting and driving. Thirteen states prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. No state bans all cell phone use while driving but thirty-seven states ban all cell phone use by novice or teen drivers, and