Introduction
Distracted driving is one of the most serious problems which becomes more and more relevant in recent years. This driving is an activity that distracts the driver from the road and the safety of all passengers. These practices include talking or texting on the phone, listening to loud music, engaging in active communication, eating or drinking. The appearance of new technologies and the advancement of cars lead to the deterioration of the problem. While having a chance to record a voice message or a video and watch movies at any time, people become more likely to lose their concentration and experience challenges.
Effects on the Driver
One of the main proofs that distracted driving is as dangerous as drunk driving is its negative effect on a person’s attention. There are three components that impact a driver: manual – taking hands off the wheel, visual – watching at the phone or people, and cognitive – thinking about something random. While being affected by these elements, people completely lose their concentration and cannot understand their location or next move. So, people are not good at focusing on multiple things which makes distracted driving similar to drunk driving.
Probability
Distracted driving can happen anytime and cause more deaths than drunk driving. Drunk driving becomes the cause of car crashes between midnight and 3 am, and accidents due to distraction appear during rush hours and kill more individuals. In addition, the government does not pay attention to distracted driving, which increases its probability. There are official records that prohibit drunk driving and determine prison sentences for those who violate the regulations. At the same time, there are no strict rules for distracted driving, leading people to being indifferent towards their driving style.
Challenges
One of the challenges related to distracted driving is that it is harder to prevent. While having no knowledge of situations that can happen on the road, people may experience troubles adapting to the problem and controlling the vehicle. In comparison, drunk individuals usually understand that they cannot drive and choose another means of transport. Moreover, the difficulty of distracted driving is that there is only one way to prevent it – focus on the road only. All the attention has to be one the road because even if its smaller percentage shifts, the performance will suffer.
Conclusion
Distracted driving is as dangerous as drunk driving because:
- It has a negative influence on concentration;
- It is more likely to happen;
- It is harder to prevent.