essay #3
Out
of all of the distracted driving among people cell phone use is the most
dangerous. While some people might argue that cell phone use could help driving
the facts and statistics say otherwise. People are more worried about their phone
than their own life and the people in the car. Not only had they put themselves
at risk but also other drivers around them! In my experience on the road I see first-hand
what distracted driving can do, its many lives and still counting. The more we
get this out there the more lives we can save.
Any
distractive driving such as: Texting, talking, eating, loud music and even when
your emotions dictate your mood. It takes away half of your focus to your hands
eyes and hearing. Texting requires one hand and eye focus, which leaves you
with little concentration for the road. When you drink and drive you are 4
times more likely to get into and accident but it’s very different when your
texting and driving because that number jumps to an 8 times more likely to
crash. Sean Kozara compares distracted driving with Russian roulette, in a
sense that yes you can look at a text or answer a phone call but at that moment
you’re at high risk for a car accident! I know from personal experience that
texting and driving can be very deadly. When a survey was taken 50% of
teenagers admit to texting and driving. 28% of automotive crashes are because
of texting and driving.
Over
410,000 people have gotten injured because of distractive driving and that number
keeps rising every day. A persons reflects go down to about of an eighty year
old man when we text and drive! That is no time to react to a quick situation.
And puts many lives in danger, not only injuries
but also deaths. In order to stop this or decrease this multiple parties need
to be informed like the police, teenagers, adults, seniors, automotive shops,
and anything else to do with automobiles. It’s hard to resist a phone call or
text, but it might just save your life if you ignore it.
LaHood
says that hands free isn’t the problem since it’s up to your ear while driving.
She also says that most people can’t afford Bluetooth in their car so the cell
phone is easier to use. Well if this is the case I think that more car companies
should be more informed of this rising number of accidents, than maybe we can
work on the car having already a built in Bluetooth to at least minimize the
number of crashes. It’s not a lot but it’s a great start. Because at least your
eyes would be on the road and not your cell phone screen.
National
Highway Traffic Safety Admissions (NHTSA) continues to research this topic,
collect data, promote legislation, and encourage public awareness and
education. The NHTSA is trying out a high visibility enforcement project in New
York and Connecticut. Raising awareness. This is a great start as well but not
nearly enough to get most of the United States to stop putting their lives in
danger. So far only fourteen states prohibits all hand held cell phone use
while forty-four states have banned texting and driving. There has been no
state bands on complete no use of cell phones but the efforts are getting
better to make that happen.
Drivers
accessing social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat
and Email increased from 21% to 43%! So this went to just people texting and driving
or calling and driving to people actually checking social media sites! If it
takes an average 5-10 seconds to read a text than another 5-10 seconds reply I couldn’t
imagine the time it take for people to check social media or their emails.
In
2011 about ten percent of FATAL car crashes had to do with cellular devices.
And 17 percent were injured. 495 people in 2011 were killed because the other
party was using a cell phone.
I know from my personal experience that distracted
driving is very dangerous! And to bring and actual story into this might be more
useful to some that still choose to check their phone. I was in High School
when this happened Davis High was a very big school and had a lot of new
drivers out on the road, When it was lunch time I went out to lunch with a
couple of my friends. I was in the passenger seat and my friend driving, on the
way back to the school we were driving in a residential area doing about twenty
miles per hour when we stopped at a stop sign. My friend looking both ways
first went to push on the gas when a truck rear ended our car. We got out of
the car to asset the damage and I took the car license plate down when the
other party drove off! Without getting out of the car they just left. Well when
the police found the car the driver admitted that her was texting and driving
and didn’t see us and didn’t have the time to stop! I and my friend had
whiplash me having a bruise on my forehead as well. Without realizing what he did
he decided to leave the scene thinking he wouldn’t get caught. Lucky for me and
my friend we didn’t have any serious injuries or death but now I know first-hand
what texting and driving can do.
The main tips you can follow for preventing a crash are
very simple it can be hard the first few times but after a while it will get easy
and you will be saving lives. The tips are:
1. Devote your full attention to driving.
2. If another activity requires your
attention pull over.
3. If you have passengers don’t be afraid
to ask their help.
4. Put all electronic distractions away.
5. Make sure children and pets are
secured.
6. Eat before getting into the car.
7. Finish all grooming at home, or
parked/pulled over. (I know it sounds a but silly but it might just save your
life and someone else’s)
8. Make adjustments to the car before.
9. Store any loose gear away or tie down.
10. FULLY FOCUS ON DRIVING!!
Finish any other
distractive things that you have outside the car. The more people that can
follow these tips the safer our roads will be. Using a cellphone, tablet, gps,
or music device while driving impairs the drivers’ awareness of their
surroundings, people in the car, inside and outside situations, and ability to
react, meaning that drivers have a harder time processing what could be going
on around them.
In conclusion cell phones are great in the sense of an
emergency but replying to a text is not an emergency and it becomes one for
someone else on the road you’re putting at risk. You should be able to take
care of any distractions before getting in a vehicle at all times. Distracted
driving is dangerous and can be 100% preventable if you put your cellular
devices away while driving.
