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Essay / Assessing the risks of texting while driving
Texting while driving can ruin your life, don't do it. Texting while driving puts you and those around you at unnecessary risk and is just as dangerous as drinking and driving because the consequences can be just as deadly. Therefore, texting and driving should be just as illegal as drinking and driving. Putting yourself or those around you in danger of death or serious injury is not acceptable and is one hundred percent preventable. Texting while driving should be against federal law. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get an original essay Texting while driving should be banned by federal law Intextication is the state of having your mind and focus on the 'Texting to the point where you're not aware of what's happening in the world around you. (Online Schools Organization, 2014, p. 1) When someone texts while driving, they are sometimes referred to as “intexticated,” such as in relation to someone who is intoxicated. (Professional safety. 2013, paragraph 1). There is good reason for this, as the effects of an intoxicated person behind the wheel of a moving vehicle can be the same as the effects of an intoxicated person behind the wheel. The end result is crashing into another person's vehicle or property, or even hitting a pedestrian. Intext driving is on the rise among road users. (A. Benedetto et al., 2012, p. 29) Smartphones are increasingly popular with teens, and teens represent the majority of new drivers. Many middle-aged adults also began texting while driving and were unaware of the dangers of the practice because texting devices did not exist when they obtained their driver's licenses. In the article “Texting While Driving Is More Common Among Adults,” the author discusses the fact that many middle-aged adults text and drive. (Eddy, N., 2013 p. 1). This shows that it's not just teenagers who text while driving, making this problem even more problematic in society. If illegal driving behavior increases in society, then society is acting irresponsibly and dangerously, which poses a public safety problem. If the company itself does not act in a reasonable and responsible manner, then federal law should intervene in the interest of public safety. Texting while driving is dangerous and irresponsible. In the article "Effects of mobile phone tasks on driving performance: a driving simulator study", the author states that "in 717 of the 723 accidents studied (99%), an error in driver behavior caused or contributed to the accident. (A. Benedetto, A. Calvi, F. D'Amico., 2012, p. 30) Although the "behavioral error" was not necessarily texting, looking away and focusing on the route to texting is just as dangerous as any other behavioral mistake out there. This includes drunk driving and reckless driving. Using a cell phone for any purpose while operating a vehicle prevents the operator from operating the vehicle with full concentration and alertness. Therefore, there is automatically at least some risk when someone uses a cell phone while driving a vehicle. In the article “Impacting Distraction” the author writes that “cell phone conversations interfere with what a driver sees and processes, aa number of studies. » This, in turn, slows down reactions and other faculties. (Seppa, N., 2013, p. 1). If talking on the phone slows down a driver's reaction time, which could be deadly in an emergency, texting while driving would surely slow down a driver's reaction time as well. The author of Impactful distraction also specifies “The risk of an accident quadruples when the driver is on the phone…” (Seppa, N., 2013, p. 1). This shows that there is a risk in using a cell phone while driving, even if you only use the simplest functions. Texting could be considered the most complex operational function of a smartphone. This means using the texting feature while driving would be the most dangerous cell phone use, increasing the risk of an accident much higher than quadrupling it. If you're relatively new to texting and driving, you might think that texting isn't that effective. hard, so it's probably not that dangerous while driving, or you might think to yourself, I'm skilled enough to handle it. If these are your thoughts, you should take note of the article "Wat 2 Do Abt Txt'n & Drv'n (aka: What to do about the problem of texting while driving?)" which examines some actions related to texting while driving. . The author writes that “texting diverts at least some of the driver's mental focus from the task of driving. Second, drivers who text must take at least one hand off the wheel to send messages, and usually to read them. (Gardner, LA, 2010, para 1) and “drivers typically receive the content of their text messages visually, requiring them to take their eyes off the road for a period of time.” (Gardner, LA, 2010, paragraph 2). Any experienced driver should be able to see the danger posed by this type of driving behavior. “The best hope for effectively addressing it lies in a multi-pronged strategy that legally and socially condemns this behavior” (Gardner, LA, 2010, summary). Texting while driving presents a public safety issue. This resulted in loss of life, long-term injuries and property damage. Yet research shows that a three-way divide exists between the public option regarding texting while driving, scientific studies on texting while driving, and legislation on texting while driving. (Seppa, N., 2013, p. 1) This disconnect must be eliminated by banning texting while driving and educating the public primarily through required readings in order to obtain or renew a driver's license. When Mr. Seppa interviewed an emergency room doctor at West Virginia University named Jeffery Coben, Mr. Coben stated that "injuries rarely occur due to chance events" (Seppa, N., 2013 , p. 3), which implies that vehicle accidents that result in injuries are not fortuitous events. , but they are rather predictable and avoidable. Mr. Coben went on to state that "every accident is an interaction between a person driving the vehicle and the environment in which they find themselves." (Seppa, N., 2013, p. 3) Mr. Coben is absolutely right. When a vehicle crashes because the driver was texting instead of focusing on driving, it is a predictable outcome that could have been avoided, not a chance accident. Losses and injuries due to intextication are completely avoidable. However, texting is becoming a common part of life and this leads to behavioral changes, but texting while moving is dangerous. THEPeople who walk while texting will change their walking style to be more careful, but research shows that their changed walking behavior does not make them safer. If people can't walk safer while changing their texting behavior, then what makes them think they can drive safer by changing their driving behavior and send SMS? According to the article “Practicing Safe Text: the Impact of Texting on Walking Behavior,” texting is a cause of car accidents. The authors claim that “using a phone while driving increased the number of distracted driving accidents.” (Lopresti-Goodman, SM, Rivera, A. and Dressel, C., 2012, paragraph 1). Research shows that the predictable outcome of texting and driving results in a vehicle crash, resulting in property damage and possible injury or even death. Therefore, for the sake of public safety, texting while driving should be prohibited. Speaking of the law, there's an article called "New Approaches to Stop Texting While Driving" in which a California Highway Patrol officer named Brian Pennings educates teens. on the dangers of texting and driving. According to Officer Pennings, “drivers who text are twice as likely to get into an accident as those who text and drive under the influence of alcohol.” » (New Approaches to Stop Texting and Driving, 2013, paragraph 1) Drinking alcohol impairs driving skills, but texting completely disables driving skills. A blood alcohol content of 0.08 impairs a person's ability to control the speed of a vehicle, but intextication will prevent a person from knowing that there is danger right in front of them. According to Officer Pennings, "fewer teens drink or do drugs before driving than text or talk while driving." (New Approaches to Stop Texting and Driving, 2013, paragraph 2) So we have two topics here. The first is driving while intoxicated and the second is driving while intoxicated. Driving while intoxicated is the more dangerous of the two activities and the more dominant activity of the two. Yet driving while intoxicated is only one of the two activities that is illegal in all fifty states. Now you might ask yourself “that’s strange, why?” » The answer is that drunk driving has been around for over a century, but cell phone texting has only been around for about a decade. Human poisoning predates the invention of the automobile, but texting on cell phones and smartphones has only become a widespread activity in the past five years. Now is the perfect time to make texting while driving illegal in all fifty states. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, all fifty states have made it illegal to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, and, a BAC of 0.08 will impair a person's ability to control the speed of a vehicle and cause difficulty processing information and reasoning. (page 1) Many states have made it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of just 0.02. Which is more dangerous: driving with reduced ability to control vehicle speed and difficulty processing information and reasoning, or driving while fully focused on reading a text message on a mobile phone, without processing any information relating to your location. the moving vehicle is rolling or what is in front of it? Atless with a blood alcohol level of 0.08, you can still try to avoid crashing your vehicle into an object with limited capabilities. But when you're focused on reading a text message, you have no idea the danger is there, so you won't even try to avoid it. The article "Trends in Distracted Driving Fatalities in the United States, 1999 to 2008" examined trends in distracted driving that led to a fatality and its relationship with cell phone use and texting, during the period from 1999 to 2008. The authors state that “laboratory and naturalistic studies have shown that talking on a cell phone increases the risk of collision by more than 30%. (Wilson, FA and Stimpson, JP, 2010, paragraph 2). So we know that simply talking on a cell phone while driving significantly increases the risk of a collision, according to recent studies. We also know that this dangerous activity can be done without even taking your eyes off the road. But texting while driving requires the driver to look at their phone rather than the road. We also know that it is dangerous to take your eyes off the road for any reason while driving. Logical and deductive reasoning therefore proves that wondering while driving is dangerous and increases the risk of collision. Being intexted while driving a vehicle should be socially condemned because it is very dangerous. Therefore, texting while driving should be banned by the federal government. The federal government already recognizes that texting while driving is wrong. In fact, according to the Federal Communications Commission: The White House issued an executive order on October 1, 2009 stating that the federal government should show leadership in reducing the dangers of texting and driving and that all federal employees should not should not text when driving a government vehicle or when driving on official government business. Additionally, it directs all executive branch agencies to reevaluate and consider new rules and programs prohibiting texting while driving and to educate federal employees about the security risks associated with texting while driving. flying. (paragraph 2)Now the federal government must take it to the next level and ask the Senate and House to also pass a law banning texting to the American public while driving. There is an abundance of research and additional evidence that supports the fact that texting while driving is dangerous. For example, in the article "The Effects of Text Messaging During Dual-Task Driving Simulation on Cardiovascular and Respiratory Responses and Reaction Time," the article discusses a study that attempts to replicate the Effects of text messaging distractions on reaction times. Forty subjects completed their computerized reaction time tests with a single task, without texting, and a dual task with texting as the second task. The results showed that text messaging significantly increased reaction time. Reaction time is what separates expert defensive drivers from amateur drivers when it comes to avoiding an accident. Those who have a quick and decisive reaction time are more likely to avoid or lessen the impact of a collision and are more likely to escape with minimal injury. Surely someone will argue for personal freedom, saying that it should be my choice. whether I want to take the risk or not, just like people did in the past to have to wear seat belts. People will also justify their texting and.