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Driving Distractions
Cesar Cardoza
University of Texas at El Paso
DRIVING DISTRACTIONS
Distractions are everywhere these days and it is not always bad but when it
comes to driving distractions may have a devastating effect. Driving is such a
monotonous task that drivers may not be completely focus on just driving. There are
many things that may be more appealing than driving and can cause a distraction.
Distracted driving is very serious problem that needs to be pay more attention to. There
are laws behind this act that need to be explored and much more information about the
subject that is yet to be discovered.
What is distracted driving?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration distracted
driving is any activity that could divert a persons attention away from the primary task of
driving. All distractions endanger driver passenger and bystander safety. These types of
distractions include: Texting, using cell phone or smartphone, talking to passengers,
grooming reading, including maps, using navigation systems, watching a video,
adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player (Distracted Driving 2011, April 2013). So
now that we have a clear understanding of what distracted driving consist it is pretty
clear that almost everyone you know including yourself is a distracted driver.
It is clear however that the most dangerous yet most popular form of distracted
driving is using your phones while driving.(Distraction.gov, 2013). Almost everyone has
a cell phone now. Not only do people own cell phones but they have become an
essential part of human lives; cell phones go with most people wherever they go and
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eat and drive and feel it is a natural thing to do as most people is use to multitasking
and this is no different than that to the public eyes.
In 2011 the US Department of Transportation gather a list of statistics regarding
distracted driving accidents these list contains statistics that are so concerns specially
considering there hasnt being must change in the past three years; Ten percent of fatal
crashes in 2011 were reported as distraction affected crashes. Seventeen percent of
injury crashes in 2011 were reported as distraction-affected crashes. In 2011, 3,331
people were killed in crashes involving distracted drivers and an estimated additional
387,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. Of those
people killed in distraction-affected crashes, 385 died in crashes in which at least one of
the drivers was using a cell phone (12% of fatalities in distraction-affected crashes) at
the time of the crash. Use a cell phone includes talking/listening to a cell phone,
dialing/texting a cell phone, or other cell-phone-related activities. Of those injured in
distraction-affected crasher an estimated 21,000 were injured in crashes that involved
the use cell phones at the timer of the crashes (5% of injured people in distractedaffected crashes).Eleven percent of all drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes
were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. The age group has the largest
proportion of drivers who were distracted. For drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal
crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones.
In 2011, 495 no occupants+ were killed in distraction affected crashes. (NHTSA, 2013)
See table 1 and table 2 on page 9 for more information.
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There is still much more research to be done this is according to the center for
disease control. There is still no known statistics regarding many other forms of
distracted driving other than using your cell phone while driving. What is clear is that
most research points to the same direction this is a dangerous activity and needs to
stop as soon as possible. In a recent survey processed in social media almost 100
percent of the people who responded admitted to have had driven while distracted
either by a cell phone or by something else in the car. No state bans all cell phone use
for all drivers, but 37 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by novice drivers, and 20
states and D.C. prohibit it for school bus drivers. 44 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam
and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers. All but 5 have primary
enforcement. Of the 6 states without an all driver texting ban 4 prohibit text messaging
by novice drivers and 3 restrict school bus drivers from texting.
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It will take a long time for drivers to understand the severity of this practice and
there are countless efforts being done to educate the public. Teen education licensing
programs have become very popular in many states and continue to grow in popularity
as the issue continues to not decrease at the pace that it should be decreasing. More
research its still to be done on distracted driving prevention tactics but for the mean
time the undeniable truth is that it is one of the most dangerous yet repeated activities in
peoples everyday routine.
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10
References
Distracted Driving (2014, Oct 10). Center For Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved
October 27, 2014 from http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/
Distracted Driving 2011 (2013, Apr). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Retrieved
October 27,