Driving while Texting Dangers

Have you ever felt your phone vibrate in your back pocket?

Have you ever felt your phone vibrate in your back pocket, reached to grasp it, and then realized it wasn't even there? As a culture, we have grown so dependent on our phones that we experience erroneous sensations that make us think they are vibrating when they aren't. Because it is reckless, dangerous, and a severe offense, texting and driving ought to be outlawed nationwide, not just in Arizona.

Texting while driving is irresponsible and unsafe

Drivers of vehicles are entirely responsible for the other automobiles, cyclists, and even pedestrians who are in their vicinity. Texting while driving is irresponsible because it causes you not to be able to pay full attention to the other people around you. The definition of irresponsible is a person not showing proper sense of responsibility. Synonyms include reckless, careless, thoughtless, etc. When texting, the other cars on the road mostly become less important than the lives of those driving on the same road as you (Gauld et al., 71).

Texting while driving is unsafe to the driver, the passengers and anyone near the vehicle - whether that be another car, bicyclists or pedestrians. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over eight people die a day due to distracted driving crashes and 1,161 are injured. Social Work today reports a 50% increase in pedestrians being hit and killed and a 30% increase for cyclists nationwide in a five-year time span between 2005 and 2010 (Gauld et al., 101). There may be no ticket cited for the actual act of texting and driving; however, the results of your actions still prove to be a serious offense.

Conclusion

When it comes to the matter of texting and driving, you will hear objections in regards to why it should in fact not be illegal. For instance, some individuals believe they are so good at multitasking that the law should not apply to them. That is the same as when you are responding to that text message and accidentally take out the cyclist in the bike lane because your car swerved while your eyes were diverted.

Work Cited

Gauld, Cassandra S., et al. “Concealed texting while driving: What are young people’s beliefs about this risky behaviour?” Safety Science, vol. 65, 2014, pp. 63–79., doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2013.12.017.