The use of cell phones while driving has become a major problem nationwide. Drivers who use their cell phones while driving are prone to causing accidents and being involved in one than without using a cell phone. It has been documented and statistically proven numerous times that texting and driving is one of the main causes of road accidents in this nation, therefore, it is important that something is done about the use of cell phones and driving to prevent the number of accidents from continuing to rise in the future. A reason why texting and driving is a serious issue is because it causes a disproportionate amount of accidents every year.
In 2012, 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 were injured in distraction-affected crashes (NHTSA). It’s a shocking realization that so many lives are taken every year over something that could have been simply avoided, yet the number of accidents still continue to rise. Part of the reason that so many lives are being taken away is because driving while using a cellphone is a distraction that can inevitably hinder your concentration and response time, putting the driver’s life in danger. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, found that text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.
It is no wonder that the crash risk is increased since the driver’s attention is taken away from the road. An automobile driver who has their attention on their phone won’t be aware of other cars or what’s around them, it just takes one glance at their phone and that’s it. And it gets worse, studies have compared the danger of texting and driving with drinking and driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated.
And yet, more people will still go out of their way to make sure that drinking and driving is stopped and taken care of over texting and driving. Maybe drivers aren’t aware of the statistics and if they knew otherwise, texting and driving would be treated and viewed the same way as drinking and driving. As a result, there would be more caution involved when driving with a cell phone in the car. To elaborate, the problem is that the dangers of texting and driving are not as publicized as drinking and driving, so there is not as much of a stigma towards the use of a cell phone while driving.
Thus, you will see more drivers on the road who are using their phones or you might even have been in a car where the driver was using their phones irresponsibly while they were driving. It is because of this reason why the dangers of texting and driving should be more publicized and banned nationwide since a good number of people are still experiencing drivers out on the road with their phones out. At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010 (NOPUS).
You know it is a serious issue when a large amount of drivers are engaged with their phones on the roads every single day. In conclusion, the use of cellphones while driving puts many driver’s lives at risk every single day. A considerable amount of people don’t realize the danger involved and still see it as a harmless act. Therefore, it is necessary for there to be a nationwide ban of the use of cell phones while driving, for the safety of our nation’s roads.
