Social Science / Sociology Essay

Texting and Driving is Dangerous

Imagine that the red light shoots up on the street and you are carried away operating your phone. Not only would you be taken as a man who flouts the rules, but you would also be regarded as someone with no moral decency to stick to one thing at a time. The multi-tasking of texting and driving is dangerous and it has posed more hazard to the American society recently than it had decades ago.

Imagine that on a day of festivity, a flood of drums and bells clash together from Chinatown. You, a careless driver, glued to your phone is unable to see the crowd ahead. You are unable to see that a young child has attempted to sweep over the road, your lane. You could not stop nor relax your pedals because you could not see him until you knock him down.

Imagine that you’re driving on the highway and your phone rang which you tried to pick up. After you pick your call, you attempt to send a quick text. Imagine that just there, your hands were unsteady on the steering and you wheeled yourself into a ditch. This and others are why texting and driving is dangerous on the road.

What is texting and driving?

You would consider this a silly question. However, some do not know that it is the worst form of distraction while driving. Texting and driving is an immediate danger that has led to numerous deaths in the United States. Texting and driving is the multitasking of a driver to take up the conscious effort of driving a car on a busy or a silent road while he/she pays keen interest to his/her phone at the same time.

It is simply texting and driving. An activity that requires the consciousness and voluntariness of the person involved in either of the act.

Texting and driving impose a driver the lack of concentration on the road. Therefore, this willful division of concentration (hence lack of concentration) poses a challenge that is worse when compared to drunk driving. There are several recorded cases of deaths and critical accidents due to the rise of drivers who do both texting and driving while navigating their cars.

Texting and driving is one of the most dangerous forms of driving distraction. By this, to either read or reply an average text takes the driver’s eye off the road for at least 5 seconds. Anything can happen in that short frame of time. An average of 660,000 drivers are estimated to use electronic devices while driving. More so, the danger lies in the use of the road —which is characterized as a form of commercial and social interaction— when many drivers are driving distractedly.

Statistics reveal that texting and driving is prevalent among teenagers. This is because they are found to be most times obsessed over this gadget. Teenagers treat the gadget, their phones, as a commodity that cannot be replaced. Some kids prefer to go everywhere with their phones. Hence, the addiction to cell phones becomes one of the biggest threats to living and ultimately, distracted driving.

According to the United States Department of Transport, about 1.6 million cases are recorded each year, cases which are basic of auto-crashes. This enormous record causes over 500,000 people gaping injuries while it costs about 6ooo their lives.

According to a 2017 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation, distracted drivers got involved in about 3,166 cases. A huge number of people die as a result of distracted driving: it is recorded that about nine people in a thousand die as a result of distracted driving in the manner of texting and driving.

Across America, during the day, over 481,000 people still operate their phones while driving. An activity that remains a plague to society is yet exercised without transformations.

Therefore, people have made this life-threatening activity a social norm. People text and drive, check social media status update and drive, others even take pictures, and make posts on social media pages while they drive. This is further incorporated with the recorded cases of inexperienced drivers, a case which worsens the probability of a breath-taking accident.

It should be added that teenagers are not the only guilty lot in texting and driving syndrome. According to a survey by AT&T, about 49% of US adults admit to the confession that they text while they drive. In this same vein, over 90% knew that texting while driving is dangerous.

It is simple for people to recognize what may kill them but it is hard to abstain from it. This forms a perception of the level of addiction people have with their phones. Although the State is actively doing something to limit the extent of distracted driving. Some states addressed the issue by imposing monetary payment on caught distracted drivers. Independent organizations and associations have also started the movement of sensitizing drivers on the dangers they (drivers already) know about.

It is important to know that to stop the abuse of the road, people must lead by example. By this, people need to sensitize others on the immense dangers of texting and driving. It is better if a driver shuts his/her phone down or puts it in the Airplane Mode as this will silence all distractions till he/she can get back to them.

Also, drivers must always stay focused on the road while driving. This will improve the rate of road accidents and the record of heavy unfortunate casualties. Also, people must remain informed and active. They must always pay keen attention to their driving while also paying attention to their phones at different times.

People should embrace State Laws. To flout State Laws is cheap, but when there is a respect for the laws that are meant to protect us and safeguard our lives, we should always adhere to them.

If the solutions provided above can be adhered to, the act of distracted driving, hence, accidents, would be reduced. That is, people’s lives will be more saved than lost and the record of deaths can be minimized to a reasonable extent.