Solution
To Distracted Driving
Although
most people agree that distracted driving causes many fatal accidents on the
road, most people do not recognize that the activities they participate in while
driving can be distracting for them. Distracted driving can be classified as
eating, drinking, or being on a cell phone. The problem is that people think
that they can handle the distractions and multi-task, they are overconfident in
their driving abilities. As a
result, more fatalities are occurring on the road and innocent lives are being
taken too soon. Distracted driving can affect anyone from any walk of life. For
example, I have heard numerous stories of small children being struck by
distracted drivers and dying. It does not matter who the driver is, how
experienced he or she is, or who is in the car with them, distracted driving is
capable of affecting anyone. More importantly, distracted driving kills and
therefore steps should be taken in order to put an end to it. The amount of car
accidents and deaths due to distracted driving is getting out of hand. A great deal of this problem is caused
by the use of cell phones while driving. With this said, cell phones should be
banned while driving.
Most people
do realize that banning cell phones completely while driving would decrease the
amount of car accidents and deaths caused by car accidents in the United
States, however, some still create excuses that would oppose my viewpoint. For
example, one may argue that cell phones may be needed in case of an emergency.
This is a very valid argument, however, the use of cell phones creates most of
these emergencies. “A
car driver talking on their phone is 1.3 times more likely to get into an
accident” ("Cell
Phone & Texting Accident Statistics." Edgarsnyder.com).
Cell phone use is a
large problem that contributes to car accidents and deaths and so, if the use
of cell phones while driving was eliminated completely, the number of
emergencies would decrease significantly. Another strong opposing view is that
passenger in the car cause the same level of distraction as cell phone use,
therefore, the ban of cell phones would be ineffective unless something was
also done about passengers. “The University of Utah study, conducted in 2004,
determined that drivers perform more efficiently when having a conversation
with a vehicle passenger, as compared to having a conversation on a cell phone,
because driving and traffic become a part of the actual conversation. Those communicating
via a mobile phone were four times more likely to miss an exit than those
talking with a passenger” (“Mobile Phones and Driving Safety State Laws”
mobilemarketingstrategy.biz). The reason that passengers do not cause as much
distraction is because they are able to alter their own conversation due to
levels of danger around them.
In
my opinion, cell phones should be banned completely while driving in order to
keep the drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safer and out of harms way. “In 2009,
more than 5,400 people died in crashes that were reported to involve a
distracted driver and about 448,000 people were injured. Among those killed or injured in these crashes,
nearly 1,000 deaths and 24,000 injuries included cell phone use as the major distraction”
("Distracted
Driving." dc.gov). The statistics do not lie, and it is very
apparent that the problem of cell phone use while driving is becoming a bigger
deal each and every year. In today’s society America has become very
materialistic and it is hard to find someone not reliant or obsessed with his
or her cell phone. They have become so reliant that they cannot even put it
down for the amount of time they are driving. I see this as a problem because
most people underestimate their addiction and think that if they have their
phone in the car with them they will be able to suppress the urge to text,
tweet, email, or call. In reality, most people have the attitude that they can
just check their phone for one split second and be fine. It only takes one
split second, one split second to ruin someone’s life or even end it.
Distracted driving is such a large problem for the reason that people do not
even recognize it as a problem. If law takes this distraction away, we will all
be better off.
There is not
one person that would not benefit from a law banning cell phones while driving.
Without cell phones in use on the road less accidents would occur and all
people on the road would benefit and be safer. The drivers would be safer and
not have to worry about the guilt that would come with killing an innocent
person because of their distracted driving. Passenger would not have to have to
feel unsafe and on edge in their friend’s car. These passengers would not have
to worry about if they should speak up about the drivers’ cell phone use
because the problem would not be occurring. Also, pedestrians would not have to
worry about crossing the street and having a distracted driver coming out of
nowhere and hitting them. Lastly, mothers and fathers of small children can
worry less about their children playing in the front yard and having a
distracted driving strike them. As shown in figure one below, innocent people,
especially children, are usually affected by distracted driving. It only takes
one second of distracted driving to take a life and “looking down for just a
second” is not a good enough excuse to justify the ham and pain caused by it. The
new laws would benefit us all by keeping us all safer on and off the roads.
Fig. 1.
Distracted Driving Can Affect Anyone ("Ditch the Distractions!" lexleeskids.org)
Even though
eliminating cell phone use while driving would be the best solution to the
problem at hand, I do understand that a compromise to the two opposing views
may need to be made instead. This common ground could be that a system or app
could be placed on the phones so that while in the car, only emergency calls
can be made. With this solution all other numbers, phone calls, and activities
would be blocked so the distraction level would be decreased. However, in case
of an actual emergency, 911 would be accessible to the driver. This seems to be
the best compromise because both ends would benefit. It also seems to be the
safest alternative because the driver would be less distracted but still be
able to contact an emergency line.
In
conclusion, cell phone use should be banned while driving in order to decrease
distracted driving and keep everyone safer on and off the roads. As you can
see, from figure two below, the way people perceive distracted driving is often
wrong. The funny text that you are probably not even really laughing out loud
at is minor compared to someone’s life. The number of fatal crashes due to
distracted driving is disturbing and unnecessary. However, it can be put to an
end with one simple law that takes away cell phone use completely in vehicles.
The main problem is that most people do not think of themselves as “distracted
drivers” and then in turn place themselves in dangerous driving situations. All
in all it would be in everyone’s best interest to end the cycle and ban cell
phones while driving.
Fig.2. Texting And Driving
Leads To Crashes ("City
of Golden Valley." goldenvalleymn.gov)
Works
Cited
"Cell Phone & Texting Accident
Statistics." Edgarsnyder.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar.
2013.
"City of Golden Valley." Golden Valley News. N.p., n.d. Web.
14 Mar. 2013.
"Distracted Driving." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Centers for Disease
Control
and Prevention, 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
"Ditch the Distractions!" Lexlees Kids Child Safety and Injury
Prevention. N.p., n.d.
Web.
14 Mar. 2013.
"MobileMarketingStrategy.biz ."
Mobile Phones and Driving Safety State
Laws. N.p.,
n.d.
Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
