Texting While Driving

Nearly 1.6 million car accidents are recorded each year, out of those accidents 330,000 result in injury or death (Edgar Snyder & Associates). Your life or someone else's life can change dramatically while driving just because someone was on their phone. Texting and driving is a real issue in our country and outside of spreading awareness or creating ineffective distracted driving laws. no one has really tried to solve this problem. Texting and driving is a problem because too many innocent lives are lost every day. The Government should implement an app that rewards people for not being on their phone while driving because so many people die every day from texting and driving.

Statistics show that texting while driving is on the rise. In a published article, “Trends in Fatalities From Distracted Driving in the United States”, from National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2005 to 2008 car accidents involving a use of a cellular device increased by 28 percent, while drunk driving fatalities declined by 35 percent. In today’s world, many people are becoming attached to their phone, and they cannot put it down for 30 minutes. A study completed by Pew Research Center showed that 59 percent of young adults ranging from 18 to 34 years old are the most likely to text and

“Text messaging … had the longest duration of eyes-off-road time of 4.6 seconds at a six second interval. This equates to a driver traveling the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour without looking at the roadway.” This statement was made by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute when they did a texting while driving study (“Skip Menu”). Texting while driving has become a large problem in the United States and it is growing. There are about 1,600,000 accidents per year as a result of texting while driving. Texting while driving has become a bigger problem for teenagers than drinking while intoxicated. In an article Delthia Ricks wrote for Newsday, she says:

According to texting and driving statistics, every year, around 330,000 people die every year from texting and driving. This is around half of all the people who pick up their phones in the first place. Being on your phone draws your attention from the road, to your phone. Doisomething.org states, “When you text and drive you are 23 times more likely to get into a crash.” All it takes is a simple act of not watching the road. Being unaware while driving can put you, and other's lives at risk or injury or even death. This can affect your future, others around you, your friends, and your family. Texting and driving is a very big deal. Don't Text Drive states “5 seconds is the minimal amount of time a driver takes their eyes off the road. If you are traveling at 55 miles an hour, this would equal the length of a football field of not

Hey, LOL, TTYL, and more are texts that are not worth your life or others as we can can see in the Don't Text and Drive image. This powerful image lacks color and life which conveys the heartache and misery it can bring to one's family. Texting while driving proves to be hazardous in that it is a distraction, causes many accidents, and endangers your life and the lives of others. This monster has no age limit and no gender. Everyone at anytime could be subjected to a terrible accident due to you texting and driving or somebody else not paying attention while they are texting and driving. Texting while driving proves to be an epidemic that negatively affects teens and society as a whole and should be avoided at all costs.

Ever wonder how your life would be if you killed someone while driving and texting? Think of it this way, it could be your friend, your child, someone you love with all of your heart or even you. How would this affect you, your family or the family of someone else you could easily hurt? During this essay I will persuade you why Idaho should enact Legislation which prohibits texting while driving with statistics, facts and my own personal experience.

Since the beginning of the smart phone era, humanity has come to build relationships with not only people, but their electronic devices. From talking on their phones and exploring apps, to texting while driving, people cannot seem to put down their smart-devices. According to the passage Introduction to Cell Phones and Driving: At Issue, the average amount of texts people send daily runs from around 40 – 110 (2015). It may not seem like the highest number, but knowing that more than half of those messages are sent while driving makes the matter of texting a lot worse. At this point in time, there have been laws prohibiting texting and driving as well as talking on the phone. Yet, to this day, those laws are null and void; regardless, the talking and texting while driving never stops. Although this phenomenon happens daily and causes many minor and major accidents, the probability of seizing this behavior is little to none.

The reason why I agree with the “City Council is because that’s how people get hurt not just you but other people to. Let me tell you about what I mean”. So say if your driving or somebody else driving and there texting and trying to drive at the same time and they looked up to late to see that truck or vehicle coming then boom y’all “crash”. You might be dead or the next person might be dead. Or even y’all badly injured/hurt.That’s why it’s important to not text and drive, cause it put people in danger.

According to Winfrey, how is texting while driving similar to driving while drunk? How is it different?

Currently, there is a law regarding the use of devices while driving in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to the state agency, Department of Motor Vehicles drivers under the age of 18 years old are outright banned from using cell phones or any sort of personal communication devices while driving. In fact texting is banned for all drivers. In Virginia, it is considered a primary offense, meaning the police can pull you over if they suspect you of texting while driving. The first time this happens the fine is $125 and $250 for offenses thereafter. A website titled “Virginia Decoded” shows the use of devices while driving specifically defined as:

Some states have now made it illegal to drive while using a hand-held cell phone. Some people believe that states should not make it illegal to drive when using a cell phone. They argue that cell phones may be more resourceful and less distracting while driving. States should make it illegal to drive while using a cell phone. Driving with a cell phone can cause accidents, be distracting, can be tempting, and can cause loss of control of one's vehicle. Using a cell phone while driving can cause accidents. My friend, Chelsea, had an accident while using her cell phone. She was texting her mom about coming home and did not see the tractor trailor approaching her. She was hit by the tractor trailor and was in the hospital for two weeks

As cell phones become more popular, texting while driving is becoming the most widely known cause for car accidents among teens. The alarming rate of incidents where texting is involved is getting more parents worried and warning their children about the danger of texting while driving. Parents are urging the fact that drivers should pay attention to the road and traffic, not their phones. A popular study of 18 to 24 year old drivers showed that 66 percent of them have texted while driving. Since texting while driving is becoming more popular many states are passing a law to ban the use of any cell phone device while in a vehicle. Texting while driving is an important issue that is causing many deaths and those who cause these deaths and

I believe that the driving while texting should be not only treated as not only reckless driving, but also as an addiction. Yes, I said addiction, because the matter just gets worst when driving while texting, but even the idea of not being aware of your surroundings can be just as hazardous as one is driving while texting. Only difference is that a person operating a vehicle presents danger to the road and other people and a person even walking while texting also puts one’s self in danger in public places.

Imagine driving down the road texting, not looking at the road unaware of your surroundings. All of a sudden the car is flipping around, once the car has settled you realize that you have hit an oncoming car from swerving in and out of the lanes. The other victim was killed instantly by contact, and you have major injuries from what you can see. Finally, when police arrive on scene they ask to question you about the accident, and you tell them you were texting while driving. You are further charged with manslaughter because the oncoming driver was dead on contact. Studies show that texting while driving is the leading factor in 1.6 million accidents every year, which is about 25 percent of all driving accidents (Bowers, 2014). To put that in perspective, studies have shown that five seconds is the minimal amount of your attention is taken away from the road when texting (Bowers, 2014).

“In 2010, 3,092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver” (Distracted Driving). Many people do not realize that texting and driving causes so many injuries and deaths. People believe that looking down at a phone for three seconds is okay and will not cause harm. They are wrong; texting while driving causes more accidents than other distractions while driving. There are also laws that forbid the use of a cell phone while operating a vehicle. Texting and driving is an action that kills more people than expected. Due to the lack of concentration on the first-hand action; a slowed