Driven To Distraction

Improved Essays
In the New York Times Upfront magazine article, “Driven to Distraction”, by Patricia Smith, we learn how serious distracted driving is becoming in our world today. It is impacting everyone on the road; the distracted driver, the passengers, and the other drivers and passengers on the road. According to the article, it says, “Distracted driving is ‘dangerous, devastating, crippling, and it’s a killer,’ Lightner says, ‘and still socially acceptable.’ It also says, “...insurance companies, which closely track car accidents, are convinced that the increasing use of electronic devices is the biggest cause, according to Robert Gordon of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.” Distracted driving is become more of a hazard in our society

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Distracted driving is anything that causes one to take his/her eyes off the road or lose mental focus while driving. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed due to distracted driving, and almost half a million were injured because of it. Nine hundred and eighty-five of the 5,474 deaths involved the use of a cell phone (Consumer Reports). This is an enormous number of deaths because of cell phone usage while driving. The most striking fact is that nearly…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Instantly, a driver’s life can lose their lives or seriously injured due to their negligent including nearby drivers. The death toll for distracted driving is 3,477 people killed on America’s roads in 2015 (Berger, 2010). With today’s…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Driving is a very dangerous activity on its own because you are moving a very heavy chunk of metal, going up to 80 MPH, in very close proximity to other cars who are doing the same thing. When you add in technology like phones, radios, and even other people, it makes driving even more dangerous. There are hundreds of car crashes a day. Any way to reduce the risk from distracted driving is a positive one.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Driving is an ordinary entity in millions of individuals lives that allow them to commute to and from work/school/home, but could easily turn into a nightmare that is never woken up from if not taken seriously. There are many diversions that exist while driving, but distracted driving is quickly becoming one of the most prevalent factors for causes of a car accident, and might even be more dangerous than it is reported. The time that it takes to become distracted and be a victim of a fatal accident is one second. One second of a text message or phone call that could have waited. Conversations, mainly from cellphones, are a top distraction because drivers utilize them for long periods of time per day.…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The editorial “Making Texting While Driving Look Unacceptably Stupid” explains that distracted driving can be a life altering route that drivers do not want to travel down. In this editorial it explains how the National Highway Traffic Safety report tells that 87 percent of drivers will admit to risky behaviors that include distracted driving. Distracted driving can be anything that allows a person to take their hands off the wheel for a second. With a second a disaster could happen at any moment and it is growing to the top cause of car accidents. I myself have experienced an accident due to distracted driving that involved the use of a cellphone.…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Defense Of Distraction

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Authors Anderson, Goldberger, and Franzen address the audience about concerns within societies and the effect technology has disconnected the reality and everyday social lives of one another and how these distractions have invaded our privacy and the idea of it. They accomplish this argument by using sources with a variety of experts and interviews that give expertise to persuade the argument of technology and the distractions it creates among society’s ultimate connections and ideas of privacy. In this way Anderson, Goldberger, and Franzen convince the audience of the ultimate distraction technology creates in the attention society seems to diminish and invade the privacy we once had. In the essay “In Defense of Distraction” in Writing Analytically…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In summary, distracted driving has become a growing issue throughout the society and it needs to be taken seriously. Many innocent lives are being lost due to needless tasks being done while driving. The usage of cell phones while driving still may not seem like a major concern to most people because this is so common nowadays that people do not believe that anything like this can possibly happen to them, but again, one never knows what might take place later on in life because no one can predict the upcoming future. Some people may argue that the United States of America is a free country, therefore anybody can do what he or she would like to, and that this type of problem, involving distracted driving, only occurs occasionally. The fact that…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Texting is, of course, a deadly problem—and one that seems to continue to be a temptation for motorists no matter how much attention is brought to the issue nationwide. Many of us may be punished for the dangerous distracted driving trends of today as insurance companies blame significant losses on smartphone usage in the car—and begin to raise premiums even further. A recent Wall Street Journal article explores the new challenges insurance companies are facing as the enormous costs behind today’s accidents are causing them to lose money, with Michael LaRocco, chief executive of State Auto Financial Corp., referring to the problem as ‘an epidemic issue for this country.’ Statistics regarding distracted driving accidents may not even begin to demonstrate the true magnitude of the problem as many drivers do not admit to having their phones in their hands at the time of the motor vehicle incident. Many police officers and adjustors are delving deeper into accidents now to investigate possible distracted driving, along with the use of phone records in court cases.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most people tend to think that these fatal car crashes will never happen to them, but they, the drivers, are wrong. This is something that could happen to anyone behind the wheel. Even though the number of casualties due to crashes is ginormous, many crashes due to distracted driving go undocumented (Combat Edge). Distracted driving is bad for all of us, and bad for our economy as well.…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After researching information from the textbook and websites provided, I learned very many important facts. One fact that really left an impression on me was from cdc.gov and it states, “In 2013, 424,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver…” To me this is such a horribly large number. Even worse it says that 3,154 people were killed. Since 2011 the number has increased by 10%.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Distracted Drivers

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Distracted driving has been defined as any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving, inherently endangering driver, passenger, and bystander safety. Unfortunately, despite staggering reports of serious automobile accidents caused by said distraction, the roads we travel are no safer. Lawmakers in part, can contribute considerably to increase the safety of the roads we travel. They can do so by strengthening existing laws, enacting and enforcing new laws, and taking certain legal measures. All of these actions combined could help in creating greater awareness of the danger in which everyone is placed by distracted drivers.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Any one of your family members could be a victim of distracted driving. People are being victims of distracted driving, and one reason is using cell phones while driving. States should ban the use of using cell phones while driving. Texting while driving is a distraction for drivers and should be should not be used on the road. Evidence: “The photo, published Wednesday in The Greeley Tribune, shows Heit was responding to a friend by typing "Sounds good my man, seeya soon" followed by a few letters before crashing.”…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Distracted Driving

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Distracted Driving should be illegal because technology has been a major key in car accidents among american teens. Texting while driving should be banned and that may help take down the car accident rate. Since the late 1990’s, car crashes and fatalities caused by distracted driving have become an increasingly serve public health problem. Advancements in mobile technologies have enabled people to use their cell phones as primary communicated devices and drivers have brought those devices into their cars. From 1999 to 2008, nearly fifty-thousand people were killed in car crashes caused by distracted drivers.…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Distracted Driving Distracted driving is the practice of driving a motor vehicle while engaged in another activity. Most people think that the main distraction while driving is the use of a cell phone, however, this is entirely untrue. People partake in various activities while driving in their cars, causing distracted driving to be the primary reason for car crashes in the United States. Each day in the United States, over 8 people are killed and 1,161 are injured in car crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (Distracted Driving).…

    • 1318 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We have all been driving and seen a car that was not following the road regulations and noticed that they were on their cell phone. Studies have shown that drivers are not aware of their distracted driving ability (Kidd and Horrey). Using a cell phone is one of the main causes of distracted driving because it uses your manual,…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays