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). There are a few different types of distraction: cognitive distraction, visual distraction, and manual distraction. In 2014 alone, there were 431,000 injuries and 3,129 people were killed in …show more content…
Texting requires the use of cognitive, manual, and visual concentration. Texting while driving is arguably the worst distraction to drivers. AAA has found that nearly 1 in 3 drivers (32 percent) admit to typing or sending a text or email over the past month, while eight percent say they do so fairly often or regularly (AAA). In fact, text messaging increases the risk of a car accident or near car accident 23.2 times when compared to the car accident statistics with a non-distracted driver (Top 25 Causes of Car Accidents). Cell phone use while driving has caused a minimum of 26% of all crashes in 2013 (Ones). Since the number of cellular device provoked accidents has increased, there have been companies reaching out to teens to alert them of the dangers of distracted driving. A large number of teens have been involved in crashes due to driving while distracted. Ten percent of drivers age fifteen to nineteen involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. (Facts and Statistics). As shown in figure 2, most crashes are caused by teens. This can be attributed to a few factors. Figure 2 (Texting & Driving)
The main one would be texting, however, sheer inexperience behind the wheel, conversing with friends in the car, or even just thinking about what happened at school that day may cause teens to get into an accident. Many teens have shared their own personal …show more content…
This of course, will never be the case. Certain laws have been passed to help reduce the amount of accidents such as the hands-free law prohibiting people under 18 years of age, from being able to talk on the phone using a hands-free device. The main goal of the government regarding distracted driving is to make sure that all citizens are safe. Even through distraction is inevitable while driving, we should all do our part to maintain our focus to keep the roads as safe as possible. Everything could go from perfect to complete horror in a split second. Practice safe driving habits at all times, especially in front of others in order to set a good example. Together we can do our part to stop distraction on the roads and minimize the amount of crashes due to