Facts How Big Is The Problem? FATALITIES: In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver; 3,360 were killed in 2011. MAJOR/MINOR INJURIES: An additional, 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2012, a 9% increase from the 387,000 people injured in 2011. In 2011, nearly one in five crashes (17%) in which someone was injured involved distracted driving.
In this era, with technology as a part of everyday life, it has become difficult to use a simple Public Service Announcement (PSA) as a way to reduce distracted drivers. This is due, for the most part, to the developed habit of assuming. People believe, since it’s seen in many shows and commercials, that those ‘bad things’ that come as a result of distracted driving are not likely to occur to them. People want to prove that they are able to do multiple tasks at once and every PSA would be a challenge so to speak, to show they are above average at multitasking. Those such assumptions and aspirations to prove oneself have resulted in such growing rates.
“In 2013, there were a total of 30,057 fatal crashes in the United States that involved 44,574 drivers. As a result of those fatal crashes, almost 32,719 people were killed.” Almost half of distracted driving crashes are rear end crashes which then results in hitting more cars and making those cars go out of control ending in either hitting innocent people or more cars. There are many things the Federal government and the states are doing to prevent this thing from happening. Such as “many states are banning texting while driving, or using graduated driver licensing systems for teen drivers, to help raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and to keep it from occurring.”
Most Americans have all at least one time in their lives were driving in an automobile, and while driving picked up a cell phone, eaten and or drinking, or even fixed your hair in the rear view mirror. While performing these acts you have to actually take your eyes and attention off the road and therefore your risk for an accident increases substantially. Some of the accidents could be minor however, a lot of the accidents could be and are fatal. These acts are called distracted driving and is defined as the act of driving and the driver is engaged in other activities. There are many things that can be classified as distracted driving however, the main culprits would be looking at a smartphone or cell phone, texting, eating or drinking, personal grooming, and using a GPS or the radio.
One distraction after another creates the attentional disengagement problem, causing the driver to be oblivious to their surroundings (Lewis 18). Vecera also makes a strange proposal in this article; he thinks researchers should look into whether or not someone can condition or practice texting and driving to eliminate the mental distraction it causes (Lewis 22). This claim seems strange to me, considering Vecera dedicated a whole experiment trying to prove the dangers of texting and driving. I have never considered practicing something as dangerous as texting and driving to become better at it or to try and diminish the possible consequences. This source helped me understand why people drive worse when using a cell phone, but I still have not found any statistics proving
When an induvial is distracted while driving they are endangering their own safety and the safety of others around them. When drivers decide to divert their attention from the road this is called distracted driving and that is against the law. The fact is that cell phone manufacturers can’t tell users what they can and can’t do with their devices. Cell phones makes our lives generally easier, they allow us to be accessible at any moment in time and in place around the world. And, it’s truly sad to say that there is a high percentage of individuals that use their cellphones while driving.
Distracted driving is a problem of epidemic proportions. Thousands die every year in accidents attributed to distracted driving. There are many ways to be distracted behind the wheel - answering a phone call, sending a text message, paying too much attention to passengers, or playing with the radio. One distraction many drivers take for granted is the need to use the restroom. Experts say, however, that needing to use the bathroom can be as dangerous of a distraction as any other.
p. 10). Retrieved from http://www.nsc.org/DistractedDrivingDocuments/Cognitive-Distraction-White-Paper.pdf C. Trends in fatalities from distracted driving have risen over the years. 1. A total of 51,857 fatalities caused by driver distraction occurred from 1999 to 2008 according to FARS data. (Fatality Analysis Reporting
A distracted driver would travel the length of a football field when driving sixty miles per hour (Hollister, 2013). The length and amount of time could cause a horrific accident. Traffic safety researchers at Virginia Tech also recognized that those who participate in the act of texting and driving will be twenty-three times more likely to crash (Johnson, 2012). Everyone can see the evidence that distracted driving exists, specifically texting and driving. The people need to recognize it.
According to the article Distracted Driving, in 2015 alone 37,461 lives were
One second. So many things can happen: a shooting star, a single heartbeat, or even your life flashing before your eyes. One second is also the time in which your whole world can change. A girl was on the open road with her friend, and the next second, she hit another car, and swerved into a tree. She was trapped in her totaled car, screaming for help.
Driving on the road with your friends listening to the music on the radio The driver or anyone else could have a phone in their hands resulting in everyone's attention drawn to the phone. The driver doesn't necessarily need to have a phone in their hands in order to be distracted. As long as one of the passengers has a phone in their possessions there could be a risk for an accident. There should be responsibility on the passengers as well because they can draw the attention or ask for their attention oblivious to the accident.
In 2013, the numbers went up. In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. Drivers under the age of 20 have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. Young drivers are at the greatest risk for distracted driving incidents. Some researchers speculate that this is because inexperienced drivers are the most likely to overestimate their ability to multitask.
There are numerous distractions that are always there to take a person’s eyes off of the road. Texting
C. Solution: influencing and convincing people to not use their cell phone while driving to decrease or have zero deaths or injuries each year in car collisions caused by cell phone use. • Some do not realize that the use of cell phone while driving can distract you in many ways ➢ While driving there are three main types of distraction visual, manual, cognitive. Taking your eyes of the road is visual distracting for example looking at your phone. Taking your hand of the wheel is manual distraction for example having your phone in hand and not on the wheel. Lastly taking your mind off the road is cognitive distraction for example conversation on the phone while driving.
