Texting and Driving: A Deadly Combination
Larry Howard
English 112-40
Donna Ginn March 20, 2014
Texting and Driving: A Deadly Combination
Introduction
Drunk driving has been the result of a large amount of car accidents and deaths, but over the recent years a new trend of texting while driving has taken the lead over injuries and deaths due to drunk driving. Although slightly different both of these acts fall hand-in hand as to one being irresponsible behind the wheel. Statistics prove that as dangerous as texting and driving is, numbers seem to be on the rise. In the US texting increased from 9.8 billion messages a month in 2009, to 99.4 billion messages a month in 2010 (Bandelier, 2007). According to Alan M. Tercero from the Automotive Review Council “as many as 70 percent of those messages were being sent by drivers” (Automotive Review Council, 2009). In the US only 29 states has a law banning texting while driving in which they have reported of having 37 percent fewer accidents (Jackson, 2008). Summary of Opposing Views
One may argue that texting while driving isn’t any more dangerous than any other task humans do every day, even that it’s a skill that can be learned and should be taught. The law banning this task also adds to the freedom already taken away from drivers like wearing a seat belt. Also that there can be no way too prove that a person is actually texting which they could claim that they were just typing an address into their navigation application which they need to know how to get the their destination, in which in this case the person should pull over to a safe location. While all these reasons may be true all of the sacrifices combined still doesn’t outweigh the benefits. The banning texting and driving saves lives just like seatbelts, therefore it is a selfish act to think of it as another freedom being taken away when the real freedom being taken away is from the innocent victim who has to suffer injury or death because of a thoughtless person who couldn’t wait just to reply to a message.
Statement of Understanding
Texting while driving is one of the most dangerous tasks one can engage in behind the wheel, and impairs the brains ability to focus in both tasks that require a decent about attention and involvement. Responsible driving requires a person’s full and undivided attention which cannot be fulfilled when a distraction such as a phone is involved. Other things play a role with the drivers attention such as bad weather, changing traffic signals, and shift changes in traffic patterns. Drivers just dialing are three times more likely more to crash (Richtel, 2010). It takes about five seconds to send a message, which at highway speeds, is the equivalent of the distance of a football field (James, 2009).
