Think Twice about Texting and Driving “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 …show more content…
If police officers were more strict with the laws against cell phone use while driving, and giving citations, texting and driving may decrease; therefore, it would driving more safe. The risks of texting and driving are rising each year and the amount of deaths is also rising. In 2011, at least 23% of automobile accidents were caused from texting and driving. That is an equivalent to 1.3 million crashes. While a person is texting and driving, they are twenty-three times more likely to get in an accident than if they were not using their phone. A lot of the time, teenagers get in an accident while texting, but they are not the only people that cause the accidents. Thirteen percent of drivers between the age of eighteen and twenty-one admitted to using their mobile device during the time they got in an accident. Eighty-two percent of drivers between the age of sixteen and eighteen have cell phones, fifty-two percent said they have talked on their phone while driving, and thirty-two percent have admitted to texting while driving. The numbers of young drivers are rising, and it needs to end (DWI: Driving while Intexticated). “Stop the texts. Stop the wrecks,” is a webpage to show what can happen in result from texting and driving. It states that in the five second time frame that a person is driving fifty-five miles per hour, and their eyes are off the road while
One sunny day on a Houston road, the driver of a pickup truck collided with a church minibus. 13 people died, and the driver admitted he was texting and driving. Yet this happens very often. Over 330,000 car accidents happened from texting while driving in 2015. Distracted driving is very risky, because attention is drawn away from the road,
Texting and driving has become a recent issue in today's society and is one of the largest epidemics to sweep our nation. The progression of text messaging, with more capable phones and larger numbers of people engaging than ever before, has turned into one of the largest distractions in our world. Many teens, as well as adults, have formed a habit of using their cell phones while driving their cars. Several people do not think that a quick text or even a glance at a phone while they are driving will do any harm. A great bit of accidents has taken place due to a careless individual that decided to look at their phone while they were in the process of driving. These days, phones have gotten even more
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
Texting driving is as dangerous as guns there are more accidents caused by texting and driving then there are injuries caused by firearms (Law Center). That's the biggest reason why texting and driving is such a huge problem. At any point throughout the day there are approximately 660,000 people on their phones while driving (Edgar Snyder & Associates). The reason for this is because over a quarter of all people who text and drive believe they can multi task without affecting their driving at all. These people don't find out the truth of this statement until it is too late. Imagine a world where you can feel safe on the road a world without texting and driving. I feel that I have
“In 2013, 3,154 people were killed and an estimated additional 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.” If you are distracted while driving, death and injury may be very likely to occur. When you text and drive, you are not available to focus 100 percent on the task at hand. All it takes is once glace down at your ringing cell phone for an accident to occur. No one wants to get into a crash, it is not something on our radar. No one believes that if you look at your phone for 1.2 seconds, you could die. However, you could. 3,154 people lost their lives due to distracted driving. I do not believe all of those victims
“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:
Texting and driving is the cause many accidents, in 2016 there were nearly 123,131 car crashes with 37,461 of them causing fatality. People need to understand the dangers of texting while driving. Texting and driving is dangerous to all motorists.
2. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind. This causes a driver to crash 23x the normal rate. Over 10,000 injuries nationwide due to texting while driving have been reported between 2007-2009. (http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html)
Today, texting while driving out numbers the amount of drunk driving according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a wreck than drunk driving. You are 23 times more likely to wreck if you are texting. Texting while driving is equal to driving bind for 5 seconds each text. Out of the worlds’ population of over 7 billion, at any given moment all over the world, over 800,000 drivers are texting. Drivers think they can handle looking away for a second to reply, or read a message. By doing this you are decreasing your break reaction time by 18% (national). “The concentration needed for safe driving makes texting safely at the same time impossible” (Bratsis 70). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, (C.D.C.)
“Texting and driving is a hundred percent no go. Texting and driving should be banned everywhere because you cannot be focused on looking ahead, in the mirrors, being aware of what's around you, and to type on a small keyboard on a small screen”(Allan McNish - A British race car driver). A man distracted on his phone is driving down the highway going over the speed limit and swerving into different lanes, the man looks at his phone one second too long and is hit and killed by an oncoming car in the other lane. This horrific death and others like this could have been avoided if the driver waited to answer his messages until he was at a stop or arrived back home. This texting epidemic is swarming across the world at a fast pace and is only growing
Distracting driving is a common occurrence with modern day drivers. Due to technological advances making electronics so easy to use on the go, many find themselves spending more time looking at their cell phone or navigation system than they do looking at the road. According to the NHTSA, distracted driving claimed the lives of 3,477 people in 2015 alone. Texting and driving is a common distraction, especially when it comes to the younger generation of drivers. Young drivers are oblivious to the dangers of what seems like such a harmless act. Studies have shown that one 1 in 4 accidents are caused by texting and driving. The number of people injured from distracted drivers in 2015 was 391,000. Over half of the nation’s car accidents are a result of texting and driving. Whereas drinking and driving may kill more people, the leading cause of car accidents is in fact texting and driving.
Texting while driving is seen as one of the largest epidemics to end our nation. Us individuals should solve this problem at the earliest possible date due to cell phones becoming a massive distraction when it comes to driving. Distracted driving is one of the main arguments that causes inevitable vehicle accidents that needs to be put to an end. Many drivers need to take into consideration that while texting and driving, the driver needs to be watching the highway instead of looking down at their cell phone. Some people may think that texting and driving is dangerous, while some don’t see anything wrong with it. While texting and driving it puts other lives in danger, it's against the law, and the driver needs to be alert .
Texting while driving has developed into a growing danger amongst many drivers. Driving requires full attention at all times; moreover, texting impairs the drivers’ abilities, causing his or her reaction time to decrease dramatically. When his or her full attention is on the phone rather than on the road, the driver is unable to witness the traffic; therefore, causing a collision due to lack of focus. When both hands are on the phone texting, the driver easily loses control of the vehicle because of his or her inability to concentrate on the road. Improper driving is an unnecessary risk to
There are many topics in the news everyday about how texting while driving is affecting the population today. The actions that officials are taking are helping us to become and stay a safer driver. Many of the
The recent years the annual rate of automobile accidents has increased dramatically. Little do people know that while texting and driving you automatically have a 23% chance of crashing. This is an issue all states have been trying to handle well since in the last year 1.3 million crashes were caused because of driving and texting. Texting while driving is bad because it has been taking lives away from innocent people on the road, it makes drivers more careless when driving causing serious problems, and because within the years, it has become the number one reason why fatal crashes happen.