Causes And Consequences Of Distracted Driving

Imagine driving the entire length of a football field at a speed of 55 miles per hour with your eyes closed. That is the equivalent of sending or reading a text that takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. While it may seem very minor to take your focus off of the road for only a matter of seconds, the consequences of distracted driving can result in devastating injuries or possibly even death. Distracted driving can range anywhere from texting, eating, putting on makeup, or even daydreaming. When a person is distracted while driving, it can not only harm themself, it also puts the other people in the car and other vehicles and pedestrians around them in danger. According to the article Distracted Driving, in 2015 alone 37,461 lives were

The article Causes and Effects of Driving Distracted stated that “even if your eyes are focused on the road while eating or drinking, shifting your food from hand to hand, looking down when you spill, or burning yourself on a hot cup of coffee could all take your attention away from the road just long enough to cause an accident.” Although multitasking such as eating drinking, brushing hair, or doing makeup may seem like an oppurtunity to kill two birds in one stone, studies show that multitasking while driving increases your risk of

for teens. Six teens ages 16-19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and over to be in a fatal crash.” Since teenagers are new to being behind the wheel, the risk of crashing is higher than an adult who has more experience. The article Texting and Driving Statistics noted that a teen driver is 4 times more likely to crash or near-crash while talking or texting compared to an adult driver. Even having a single passenger doubles the risk of an accident for a teenager driving on the road. In a AAA poll, it recorded that 94% of teens acknowledge the danger of driving distracted, yet 35% admitted to doing it