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Running head: DRIVING DISTRACTIONS

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

DRIVING DISTRACTIONS

have become peoples prefer method of communication, practicality is key regardless of


what people do for a living. But because cell phones have become so popular they have
also become a little bit of an addiction and almost impossible to get away from them and
this is true of when people drive. It is almost like a natural reaction, a phone rings we
check it! No matter where people are or what people are doing but a text message can
be deathly. Texting while driving is the most dangerous form of distracted driving, this is
because it requires all of our attention we need our hands our eyes and our brain to be
able to process a text message a simple yes, I am on my way requires five seconds of
time to write but in those five seconds our eyes are off the road if we are traveling at fifty
five miles per hour thats enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded
(Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2009).
What are the statistics on distracted driving and vehicular accidents?
The dangers of distracted driving are increasing as technology is advancing.
This activity is related to the age of the drivers in the US there was a nine percent
increase from the 2010 to 2011 in accidents involving distracted driving. (NHTSA,
2011). According to the National Highway Traffic Safety 2013, administration 27 percent
of fatal accidents involving distracted driving were caused by people in their 20s. The
most dangerous form of distracted driving is text messaging given the fact that requires
visual, manual and cognitive attention. This is also one of the most common forms of
distracted driving in the United States. Text messaging while driving has gained
popularity in the United States and does not appear to have any decrease since 2010.

DRIVING DISTRACTIONS

A big percentage of accidents daily involve distracted driving. Educating drivers


about the dangers of this activity is a main concern to the government as they see that
nothing is really improving with accidents caused by distracted driving. According to the
NHTSA in 2011 there were a total of 29757 fatal crashes in the United States. 3020
fatal crashes occurred that involved distracted drivers. In this crashes 32,367 people
were killed. Cell phones appear to be the leading distraction. Cell phones were
reported as a distraction for 12 percent of the distracted drivers in fatal crashes.
`The age group that has the highest portion of distracted drives that use
cellphones is 15 to 19 years of age. To many governmental groups this is the highest
risk age group, not only for the use of cellphones while driving but also because of the
use of technology, grooming and lack of attention to the wheel. There was a slight
decrease in numbers of distracted affected accidents, from 448,000 to 387,000. Even
though cell phones and smartphones are the leading cause for distracted driving
accidents they are not the only one. There have been many accidents reporting the use
of electronics that are part of the car, mainly the radio. As car radio technology is
advancing so is the drivers need to use of the same. Many cars have GPS enabled car
radio and drivers are adjusting their directions while driving, adjusting volume, address,
and many other features that this technologies offer and accidents increase as
technology advances .
Are drivers being informed and educated about distracted driving?
For the government and the center for disease control the most important thing is
to control this practice and the best way to control is to educate the public on the issue
many people dont understand that eating while driving can be very dangerous people

DRIVING DISTRACTIONS

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.

DRIVING DISTRACTIONS

What is the government doing to prevent vehicular accidents caused by


distracted driving?
These facts are concerning to the public. According to the center for disease
control many laws are being enacted to help prevent accidents caused by distracted
drivers, however there is still limited research to see whether or not this is helping. One
of the best ways to know what to help prevent this accidents is knowing what is the
cause or risk factors are, as many studies have reveal the major risk factor is age.
According to the center for disease control nearly half of all U.S. high school students
aged 16 years or older text or email while driving. Many drivers have some sort of
distraction ahead of them and many laws are being passed to help prevent accidents
due to this factor. On September 30, 2009, President Obama issued an executive order
prohibiting federal employees from texting while driving on government business or with
government equipment. Just like this several organizations have enacted laws and are
active in the enforcement of these laws. Many states have also created programs for
young adults to take before they are given a drivers license hoping that the education
provided during this programs helps prevent drivers from getting into accidents caused
by distracted drivers. However the center for disease control feels that there has to be
more studies to be able to weigh if this laws and programs are working towards their
objective. In many roads you can see advertisement about this issue, specifically about
talking and driving or texting and driving and this is simply because this is the biggest
way of distraction at the time and the most dangerous given that it takes three of your
most important senses in order to drive.

DRIVING DISTRACTIONS

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.

Is there a law against distracted driving?


There was none found. There is no law against drowsy driving, driving and eating,
driving and grooming yourself and the other countless number of distracted driving, yes
driving and texting is dangerous but there are countless of accidents caused by drowsy
drivers as well and no laws to protect their fellow drivers and bystanders. According to
the Center for disease control in 2013 there was an estimate that 15% to 33% of fatal
crashes due to drivers falling asleep. Distracted driving has proven to be fatal. There is
no denying that this practice is not really decreasing at the intensity that it should be
decreasing.

DRIVING DISTRACTIONS

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.

DRIVING DISTRACTIONS

DRIVING DISTRACTIONS
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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,

2014 from http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811737.pdf

What Is Distracted Driving? D!straction.gov. Retrieved October 27, 2014 from


http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html

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