Driving Distracted: An Analysis of Cell Phone Use on Driving
Argosy University, Seattle
This study examines the impact of cell phone use while driving. By including studies which use hand held, hands free and/or texting, this paper emphasizes that all forms of cell phone communication impairs drivers. Moreover, the research hi-lights that cell phone distraction can equal or exceed impairment caused by drunk driving. This paper further explores whether using a cell phone while driving is more likely to impair people differently depending on age and gender. Lastly this paper proposes a public policy solution while also uncovering specific areas that requires further research.
Driving Distracted: An Analysis of Cell Phone Use on Driving
Over the last several years, many states around the country have enacted laws aimed at limiting cell phone use while driving. Such laws are typically drafted following a horrific injury or death to a young person caused by cell phone use. Colorado, for example, enacted one of the very first of such laws following the death of a nine year old girl who was hit head-on by a woman on a hand-held cell phone. Similarly, in 2004, a Michigan woman ran a red light and slammed into a car which passed in front of her. Witnesses at the scene confirmed that she was not texting nor holding her phone. She was, however, having an apparently heated conversation on a hands-free device. Though both her hands were on the wheel and she looked straight ahead, she failed to "see" either the red light or the cars passing through the intersection in front of her. As a result, she did not brake, crashed into a car at 45 miles an hour, and killed a twe...
... middle of paper ...
...n imaging reveals drivers are distracted even if they don 't talk, Carnegie Mellon University.
Recarte Goldarecena, M. A. & Nunes González, L. M. (2003). Mental workload while driving:Effects on visual search, discrimination and decision making. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 9(2).
Schweitzer, T. (2013)Brain can 't cope with making a left-hand turn and talking on hands-free cell phone, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Simon, D. J. & Chabris, C. F. (1999) Gorillas in our midst: sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events. Perception, pp. 1059-1074.
Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A. & Crouch, D. J. (2003). Fatal distraction? A comparison of the cell-phone driver and the drunk driver, International Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design. Published by the Public Policy Center, University of Iowa, pp. 25-30.
Need Writing Help?
Get feedback on grammar, clarity, concision and logic instantly.Check your paper »
- Most people don’t abide by the rules and regulations of the road. Most people don’t even know that they are breaking the law because they do it so often. Talking on the cell phone and driving has become a very popular thing these days. Technology is coming out with the newest phones that can do everything for you and people are attracted to that. There are people that don’t have hands free and drive their car with only one hand, people that text and totally take their eye off the road and type conversations to each other.... [tags: Distracted Driving Argument Cell Phone]
1037 words (3 pages)
- Are you sick and tired of having your life endangered by drivers who are too self-important to put their phones down and pay attention to the road. Once presented with the following information, one will be convinced not to use one's cell phone while driving and remember to drive now and talk later. A drive around any town provides enough evidence for most of us that cell phone use is threatening the safety of anyone who navigates on or near our roads. The exanimation of articles from The New England Journal of Medicine, Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Patti Pena are all for getting rid of cell phone use while driving.... [tags: Driving Texting Distracted Driver]
1406 words (4 pages)
- As technology advances, people become notorious for using their electronics in inappropriate situations. Teenagers in present day commonly text at the dinner table, while crossing a street, and even while driving. Not only do teenagers text, their parents do, as well. Texting is a frequent fad among the young adults, it also a convenient method for parents to keep in contact with their children. People nowadays have to be in contact with friends and family at every moment of the day especially while driving it is the equivalent of driving under the influence, using hand-held devices (like Bluetooth) will decrease the number of accidents caused by phones, and studies show texting reduces a p... [tags: Driving Texting]
1057 words (3 pages)
- Distracted Driving Distracted driving is described as “the practice of driving a motor vehicle while engaged in another activity, typically one that involves the use of a cellular phone or other electronic device” (Roadway Insurance ). Cell-phone use interferes with a person’s ability to make sound decisions by taking away the attention from what you are doing. Distracted driving is a topic that has garnered much interest over the years because of the shocking amount of teens getting into accidents.... [tags: Mobile phone, Text messaging]
1604 words (4.6 pages)
- Drivers need to be fully aware of their surroundings while driving. They must always know what is going on around them. One of the most common causes of car accidents is distracted driving. As of 2011, 3,331 people were killed and 387,000 injured due to accidents involving a distracted driver (Statistics on Texting & Cell Phone Use While Driving). That means that at least 3,331 people lost a loved one in accident involving someone who chose to drive distracted. In 2011, statistics showed that an estimated 1.6 million car accidents involved drivers using cell phones while driving (National Safety Council).... [tags: cell phone, hands free dashboard]
1010 words (2.9 pages)
- Texting while driving has been largely debated over the years as the number of accidents related to this goes up and down. Now the question in debate is whether or not all cell phone use should be banned when driving. Most states have laws banning texting while driving, but it’s not taken seriously by police or drivers. Exactly how safe is that. In the article, “Ohio: Cell Phone Laws, Legislation” it states, “The Ohio distracted driving laws have two levels of enforcement: There is only secondary enforcement for adult drivers who text message” (“Ohio: Cell Phone Laws, Legislation”).... [tags: Mobile phone, Text messaging, Cellular network]
1492 words (4.3 pages)
- Cell phone distracted driving has become as dangerous as alcohol and speeding resulting in fatal and serious injury crashes. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Monday her office will begin mandating cellphone monitoring devices in some texting-while-driving cases prosecuted by her office (Newsday). She further states “Studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other organizations that show driving while texting makes it 23 times more likely that the driver will crash and six times more likely to cause an accident than driving while intoxicated.(Newsday) This is an unbelievable statistic.... [tags: Mobile phone, Text messaging, Kathleen Rice]
1009 words (2.9 pages)
- Stricter Distracted Driving Laws When students are in a classroom situation, they don’t think much of a phone going off in class, but when people are on the road, irresponsible use of cell phones can lead to endangerment of lives. Several people have before witnessed drivers distracted before. A person can be so distracted on social media, calling and chatting, emailing or texting that they can resemble drunk drivers. According to Delthia Ricks, “the number of teens who are dying or being injured as a result of texting while driving has skyrocketed as mobile device technology has advanced” (1).... [tags: Mobile phone, Text messaging, Cellular network]
963 words (2.8 pages)
- The Dangers of Distracted Driving There are approximately 5,400 deaths per year that are linked to distracted driving, and thousands more were injured. (U.S. Department of Labor). Those fatalities are our neighbors, close friends, and even family. How can we prevent this from being so prominent. How can we make the roads a safe place to be again. These questions have many different answers, but many prove to be un-effective. I believe that the best and only way to resolve this issue is to implement tougher laws on cell-phone use in vehicles, and educate our youth to the best of our abilities on the dangers of distracted driving.... [tags: Mobile phone, Text messaging, The Road, Driving]
1001 words (2.9 pages)
- Have you ever been on a cell phone while driving or seen someone on his or her cell phone while driving. This is distracted driving at its finest. Whether you are looking at a text, changing radio stations, applying makeup, or anything else that takes your mind or eyes off the road is distracted driving. Distracted driving killed around 3,000 people in 2011 (Bauers). Car crashes are the leading cause of teenagers in the United States. If you don’t think you are distracted behind the wheel think again, many people think they aren’t distracted till something bad happens to them, like a crash, driving into a ditch, or running a red light and get a ticket for it.... [tags: cell pone use, texting and driving]
1005 words (2.9 pages)