What Are The Pros And Cons Of Texting And Driving

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).

This includes the House Bill 1013 which went into effect back in October. It bans any driver of a motor vehicle to engage in text messaging. A few other states that ban the use of a cell phone while driving are Illinois, California, New York, and Indiana has a ban on any one under the age of 18.

An article found on EBSCO, written by John Callegari for Long Island Business News, unveiled the multitude of legislative action that has been taken by the nation as a whole. The article declares that Representative McCarthy introduced legislation to standardize laws regarding the use of handheld devices while driving, known as the Safe Drivers Act of 2011. Her evidence in success of the ban passed in her state of New York was that, “Laws do work. Immediately after New York banned cell phone use there was a 47 percent decline in cellphone activity while driving” (Callegari 1). As noted in the article, the only states that don’t offer regulations are: Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South

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

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 a study by Cohen Children’s Medical Center, texting while driving is now the leading cause of death among teenagers.

If family is trying to get ahold of you because of emergency it's best to pull over to answer them.This is why most people don't want to make it a law. While others do. It’s not safe at all. In some circumstances it has to be done though. Im for both sides. Texting and driving shouldn't be a law and should be one. Its mutual for most people.

Safe driving is really important in the world today. Texting while driving can lead to a lot of things. First, if a person drive while texting they could run over someone and possibly kill them because their eyes wasn’t on the road. The person could go to jail for years just because they wasn’t paying attention to the road. Second, if a person drive while texting they can hit someone car

Three out of ten people said that they could multitask while driving and therefore where not concerned about accidents. In a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, the United States had the highest percentage in comparison to anywhere else in the world. Thirty one percent of adults admit to texting while driving. Also in the United States, 11% of drivers from age 18 to 20 were involved in a crash while texting and driving. (Source 4) In 2012, 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 people were injured as a result of texting while driving.

Pulling off to the road shoulder to send a text or make a call decreases the peril of crashing, according to Liz Soltan. “Texting while driving is the riskiest type of driver distraction, making drivers 23 times more likely of getting into a safety critical event.” (http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/digital-distraction) Ontario Education Driving School in Waterloo has educated young drivers on the dangers of texting and driving, and how to restrict the use of devices. “Cell phones are right up there with drugs and alcohol as far as causing crashes.” Steve Guarisco said Vice President of OEDS (Ontario Education Driving School). “If you're checking a text (while driving), or worse, writing a text, you might as well have had two or three beers at that moment.” (http://ontarioeducationdrivingschool.com) Looking down for 5 seconds while driving 55 mph to send one text is the length of a one football field without paying attention to the road. (http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/digital-distraction) The life of everyone associated in a texting and driving situation is at risk if the driver does not have the knowledge and understanding on safety. In addition, being able to recognize the smart decision, can decrease the mindset of using the device, and avoid putting people's live at

In 2011, 1.3 million automobile accidents were caused by texting and driving. Texting and driving make you 23 % more likely to be involved in an accident. It is a result of 1.6 million crashes each year. This can be resolved by increasing awareness of the negative effects of driving while texting. Another challenge faced by young adults is eating or drinking while driving.

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

In today’s culture, we can receive information with just the click of a button from a device in our pocket. Texting is an easy and fast way to communicate and give information to other people. Unfortunately, people choose to text while driving, endangering those around them. Today I will share with you the dangers of texting while driving, why you should not engage in it, and how it relates to the public affairs mission here at Missouri State.

1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revealed that 515,000 people were injured in various car crashes in the United States due to texting. Around 28 percent of all crashes in 2008 were caused by drivers in the age group of 18 and 29, who admitted to texting while driving. (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/texting-while-driving-statistics.html)

Supporting material: Many states and localities already have laws in place that ban or restrict cell phone use in cars. Existing laws can be found at Cellphone and texting laws (May 2012).