Abstract
Texting while driving is more dangerous than driving under the influence of substance abuse or alcohol. Drivers who drive while texting has increased likelihoods of colliding with other motor vehicles, running over foot travelers, and injuring travelers.
Even though people acknowledge that texting while driving is a major cause of accidents, they are not willing to restrain from such behavior voluntarily. In a bid to address this challenge, the US government via the policymaking agencies, citizens, and lobbyist movements is sensitizing the public on the effects of texting while driving (Beede & Kass, 2013). Based on this suggestion, this paper aims at establishing the impact of text messaging on driving performance and the risks related to this malpractice. The paper will conclude by arguing that texting while driving has negative effects on one’s driving performance. The findings will show how drivers are distracted coupled with possible consequences for public safety and device modification.
The first commercial wireless phone was made in the year 1946. By the year 1949, the services were available in more than one hundred cities. Since then, the know-how and the number of users have increased. Currently, cell phones support a number of functionalities such as camera, email, and SMS. Before the 1990s, the number of cell phone users was estimated at 1000,000 (LaVallee, 2009). In the year 2013, the number had risen to 6.4 billion. Over the last decade, there has been an increase in the number of accidents associated with texting while driving. According to a report released in the year 2010 by the transportation department, up to three thousand individuals are killed annually by accidents related to texting while driving (Pascual-Ferra, Liu, & Beatty, 2012). A similar report indicated that a number of drivers have admitted to using mobile the phones while driving. Based on the report, it is apparent that texting while driving is to be blamed for more than 6% of all the road accidents in the United States of America (Mccartt & Hellinga, 2012). The fact that a number of American teens are addicted to the device increases the need to ban the use of the device while driving.
Even though a number of average individuals can drive while texting and have no collisions, it should be noted that mobile phones have become more complicated with time and have increased the chances of distractions. Unlike in the past, mobile phones’ functionalities and features have increased tremendously (Nelson, 2013). As a result, the chances of a driver being distracted by incoming calls, messages, emails, pictures, and other notifications have increased. With increased distractions, a driver is likely to be involved in an accident. When driving, individuals should focus their concentration on the road. Mobile phones, regardless of their usage, should be perceived as a form of interruption. As such, they deter the driver’s concentration from the motorway. The above implies that an individual engaged with the device while driving is forced to drive with one hand on the steering wheel. With a decreased concentration on the motorway, an individual’s chance of being engaged in an accident is increased. Based on the above illustrations, it is apparent that regulation ought to be enacted to illegalize the act while driving.
Through enhanced sensitization, road users can be informed about the dangers of using the phone while driving. Similarly, through sensitization, relevant stakeholders will realize the need to enforce appropriate laws that will prohibit the act while driving. Equally, all the stakeholders will realize the need to put in place adequate information systems to measure the extent of road accidents resulting from texting while driving. Since the government is interested in reducing road accidents through legislation of appropriate traffic laws, it should outlaw texting while driving.
In conclusion, it should be noted that texting while driving increases the chances of being engaged in an accident. With decreased attention to the motorway, it is evidence that an individual’s chance of being engaged in an accident is increased. In this regard, it is apparent that a decree ought to be enacted to illegalize the act while driving.
References
Beede, K., & Kass, S. (2013). Engrossed In Conversation: The Impact of Cell Phones on Simulated Driving Performance. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 38 (2), 415-421.
LaVallee, A. (2009). Firms racing to end texting and driving. The Wall Street Journal. Web.
Mccartt, A., & Hellinga, L. (2012). Cell Phones and Driving: Review Of Research. Traffic Injury Prevention, 7(2), 89-106.
Nelson, E. (2013). Texting While Driving: Young Adult Drivers’ Rates & Reasons. AAP Grand Rounds, 6(3), 50-50.
Pascual-Ferra, P., Liu, Y., & Beatty, M. (2012). A meta-analytic comparison of the effects of text messaging to substance-induced impairment on driving performance. Communication Research Reports, 29(3), 227–238.