What is Distracted Driving and Why is it an Issue?
Distracted Driving [dih-strak-tid] [drahy-ving]
adjectives
1. diversion of attention while driving because driver temporarily focusing on non-driving object, task, event, or person which reduces awareness, decision-making, or performance leading to an increased risk of crashes, near-crashes, or corrective action.
Distracted driving is more than just drunk driving and or being on a cell phone. It could also mean driving while sleepy, applying makeup, crying, writing, rocking out, adjusting the radio, animated conversations with friends, etc. Chances are high that everyone has been guilty at some point of doing one or more of these while behind the wheel.
Police reports from the past several years have shown that teens and young adults under the age of 20 are the most susceptible and the most likely to be involved in fatal automobile accidents caused by being distracted behind the wheel.
In 2008 studies were conducted by both the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System. From their results they found that 5,870 people were killed in automobile accidents from driver distraction. In 2008, it was 16% of total fatalities. Of those involved in fatal crashes, 12% were drivers of motorcycles and light trucks, the highest of all other groups. Those most involved in car crashes that were fatal, were kids under the age of 20 at 16% as well. The group that came in second was the 20-29 year olds with 12%. With the increase rise of cell phones and the importance of communication in today’s society, more and more people are becoming distracted a lot easier.
Cell phone use is the leading cause of Distracted Driving and is really dangerous. Anything other than looking at the road is a danger to not only you but also to others. Nearly 95% of all Texans driving have a Smartphone or a cell phone. The problem at hand is that whilst using your cell phone behind the wheel not only are you taking your mind and hands off the wheel and the task at hand, you’re not only putting your life but other peoples’ lives at risk as well.
One of the biggest problems we have as a society is driving while on the cell phone. The danger that we put ourselves through checking a tweet or texting somebody is so great, but at what cost? The fatality rate of distracted drivers on their cell phones went from 16% in 2008, to about 18% in 2010. Now we have faster, sleeker, and cooler phones and most Americans cannot get off their phones. 11 % of kids under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as being distracted by their phones. The desire to be in touch with somebody, or even in the loop via Facebook or Twitter, puts all of us at a risk while driving. Using the internet on your phone had reportedly jumped from 29% in 2009 to 43% in 2011 while driving.
Not one single driver is safe while driving on the motorway. Even if you aren’t checking your phone, and you’re behaving while driving doesn’t mean the people next you are. A fatality can happen in a matter of seconds and the danger we put ourselves in whilst driving is unfathomable. We continue day after day in the same routine, but in a blink of an eye you could lose your life. Just because you say you are a good driver and you do all the right things while driving, doesn’t mean you are in the clear.
Is there a solution to driving without being distracted by your cell phone? Probably not, but where there is a will there is a way. While many companies are trying to stop it, like AT&T with the pledge not to text while driving with the “It can wait” slogan on September 19 of 2012, there is still a rise in use. Unfortunately the society we live in will not allow this to happen unless rules or laws are put intact to prevent the use of cell phones while driving. If we get rid of this distraction, maybe another will become more dangerous, but we have to try to not only make our lives safer but the lives of others as well.
References
AT&T Website (2012, August 15). . Retrieved from http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=23198&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=35115
Anonymous. (2011, Jan). Distracted driving facts. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:7125/docview/853139436
Distraction.gov. (2012, April 03). Retrieved from http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html
Anonymous. (2012, Feb). Distracted driving problem extends beyond texting. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:7125/docview/921648806
National safety council. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Employer Traffic Safety/Pages/TexasDistractedDriving.aspx