Good Essay About Driving While Texting Is Dangerous

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Texting while driving is amongst the most common reasons behind traffic accidents. The phrase itself refers to the action of creating, directing, reading SMSs, emails, or making other such use of the internet on a cellular phone while driving a motorized vehicle. The act is actually considered highly dangerous by society, and many countries have strict laws against it. The habit is most commonly found in young adults and teenagers, but that does not mean grownups do not indulge in said activity. Since texting has become a social norm, sometimes, it is necessary to text while one drives. However, there are ways to avoid turning into a distracted driver since they are more susceptible to road and traffic accidents.
According to the statistics published by the Department of Motor Vehicles, people who text while driving are twenty-three times more likely to get into a traffic accident. Compared to that, people who attend calls while driving are only four times more likely to get into one. This is because while texting, one’s eyes are not on the road, along with their minds and attention. More alarming statistics has come to the forefront as well. In 2013 alone, nearly twenty-three percent of all traffic accidents have been attributed to what people are calling “intexticated” driving. The number amounts tone million and three hundred thousand crashes in total. If, for example, the driver is driving at fifty-five miles per hour and looks down to read a text message, he/she will likely travel the length of an entire football field without looking up at the road. Studies have also proven that using a cell phone while driving reduces a young person’s reaction time to equal that of a seventy-year-old. Also, the department released statistics saying that driving while texting continues to kill nearly eleven teenagers every day, especially if they are also drunk at the time.
Since it has been determined that texting while driving is a very hazardous activity, one must then look for solutions to the problem. The most obvious solution is to make sure that the government puts proper laws in place so that texting while driving is banned completely from the country. Right now, only about ten states have an outright ban on using a cell phone while driving and have made it illegal. Additionally, thirty-two states have banned novice drivers from using a cell phone while driving, and thirty-nine states have an outright ban on intexticated driving. The state of Texas also bans all school drivers delivering children under the age of seventeen from using cellular phones during the job. On the first of October, 2009, the Department of Transportation issued a bill (which was signed by the President) asking all government employees to not engage in intexticated driving amongst other things when using government-owned vehicles. The government is also taking additional steps to ensure that the hazards of distracted driving are known more commonly and people, especially teenagers, are aware of the dangers. The website “distraction.gov” is dedicated to educating people about the dangers that are a direct result of texting while driving. There are also proposed laws still in the pipeline that tackle intexticated driving. For example, one law still in the works in Arizona bans texting while driving near schools and hospitals. Another proposed law in the federal department asks for stricter punishment for people who refuse to follow the laws regarding intexticated driving.
Efforts should also be made to make sure that pedestrians do not use their cellular phones while on the road. Although the pedestrian use of cellular phones might not be as harmful as a driver’s use of it, it is still harmful and encourages hits from drivers who are using cellular phones as well. In a recent survey conducted Bloomberg Business, a thousand teenagers who had had near hits were questioned about their activity while walking. Eighteen percent of the said teenagers were texting while crossing roads; twenty percent were talking on the phone and forty-seven percent were listening to music. Nearly sixty-three percent of the teens who had been hit said that they had been either texting or talking on the phone while walking. Thus, efforts need to be made to end distracted walking as well. Laws need to come into place where the pedestrians’ CNIC can be confiscated if they use their cellular phones while crossing busy roads. Apart from that, signs along footpaths can raise awareness about the potentially fatal habit.
Since the technology is the real root of all evils, we can also use it to stop the trend as well. There is already a wide array of technological software in place that can be used by parents to ensure that their teenage kids are not driving while texting. There is DriveCam, which constantly monitors a driver’s activity and sends live feedback in real-time. Additionally, there is AT&T Drive mode which is a free anti-texting and calling the application for BlackBerry users. Also, there is the Text Free Driving Pledge where both teens and parents can pledge to reduce or totally give up intexticated driving. Technology that links intexticated driving to one’s insurance has been regularly proposed as well. Here, the same technology which reports drunk driving to rental companies will do so with intexticated driving and while the amount of the total insurance will not be cut out, the interest for a month or so will increase in the form of a fine for texting while driving. There are also a number of applications that can be downloaded on one’s cell phone to block outgoing text messages if the motor vehicle is on the road. Some of these apps include DriveOFF, Live2Txt, and Canary.
Since texting while driving is most common in teenagers, parents will have to step up to talk to their kids about the hazards of the said activity. Tell them about the danger to their lives and ask them to value their lives more. Additionally, give them rewards for following safe driving measures to encourage safe behavior and driving habits more. Conversely, be quick to punish the kids when they violate the safety rules and refuse to follow them. Most importantly, be a role model for them and do not text while drive. It is quite understandable that people sometimes have to check their messages or attend important calls while driving in the case of emergencies. They should park the car on the side of the road and respond to call or message before going on the road again. This will ensure not just their safety but also the safety of all the people on the road around them as well.

References

Nemme, H. E., & White, K. M. (2010). Texting while driving: Psychosocial influences on young people's texting intentions and behavior. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42(4), 1257- 1265.
Nelson, E., Atchley, P., & Little, T. D. (2009). The effects of perception of risk and importance of answering and initiating a cellular phone call while driving. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 41(3), 438-444.
Tison, J., Chaudhary, N., & Cosgrove, L. (2011). National phone survey on distracted driving attitudes and behaviors (No. HS-811 555).