Driving While Intexticated
In the past ten years, texting and driving has become a major issue on U.S. roads. The problem has increased as smartphones have become more affordable and accessible (Full Coverage Auto Insurances). Even though 95% of drivers would agree that texting and driving is wrong, 71% of people admit to texting and driving (It Can Wait). Distracted driving is driving a vehicle while engaging in an activity that has the potential to distract the driver from the task of driving (Dictionary.com). Distracted driving is detrimental in today’s society; therefore, we need to apply some safety features that will keep everyone protected at all times. There are many helpful solutions to this problem like apps and features for your car.
Texting while driving is a dangerous thing to do and can cause injury or death to yourself or others. Even though people know that texting and driving is dangerous, there are many reasons why they do it. In a 2014 survey, 98% of drivers said that they knew of the dangers of texting while driving (CBS News). However, three-fourths of them admitted that they text while driving (CBS News). Twenty-five percent of texting drivers say that they are capable of doing several things at once while driving (CBS News). Other reasons people give are staying connected to family and friends, worry that they will miss something important or that it’s just become a habit. People are more likely to text in the car when they are alone than they are with passengers (Drive Safely). More than a quarter believe that their driving performance is not affected by them texting (CBS News).
According to DMV.org, there are three types of distracted driving: visual, manual, and cognitive. Texting and driving falls under all three categories. It is visual because you are looking at your phone instead of the road and the cars around you. It is manual because you are typing messages instead of keeping your hands on the wheel, ready to react to everything. It is cognitive because you’re concentrating on the conservation you’re having instead of the situation in your driving environment. When you are texting and driving, you take your eyes off the road for 5 seconds, which if you’re driving at 55 mph is the equivalent of driving across a football field without looking at the road (Texting and Driving Safety).
As of June 2017, 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands banned texting and driving (CDC). According to Knowledge Center, Washington was the first state to put a ban on texting and driving in 2007. Four states (Arizona, Montana, Texas and Missouri) are without bans on texting and driving. Texas and Missouri have a ban on texting and driving for novice drivers. Arizona and Montana currently have no ban at all. However, Arizona’s ban on texting and driving will go into effect on July 1, 2018 (Knowledge Center.org).
Distracted driving is part of the driver’s education course offered by private and public schools. People most at risk when texting and driving are drivers under the age of 20 (CDC).
Teen girls are more likely to text while driving than teen boys (Full Coverage Auto Insurances).
Teenage drivers have a 400% higher chance of being involved in a car crash while texting and driving than adults (IceBike). Teens have the reaction time of a 70-year-old with distracted driving (Teen Driver Source). Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than drunk driving.
A North Carolina mother lost her son to texting and driving. Her son, Gage Edwards overcorrected a curve, crossed the centerline, ran off the left shoulder, and crashed into two trees. Gage was airlifted to Wake Forest Medical Center, where he later died from a severe head injury (ABCnews.go.com). Gage’s mother Nikki, goes around to schools in her community and talks to the students about the risks of texting and driving. She talked to the students of East Surry High School and told them the truth about that dreadful accident: Nikki was the one texting her son at the time of the accident.
Wil Craig was another unfortunate victim of a texting and driving accident. His girlfriend was driving and texting when they crashed. When help arrived, Wil was initially pronounced dead at the scene and had to be cut out of the windshield of the car. When he was brought to the hospital, he had traumatic brain injury, a collapsed lung, and broken ribs. Wil was in a coma for more than 8 weeks and was on life support for the first month. His girlfriend walked away without a scratch (Huffingtonpost.com). Wil is now part of the AT&T campaign, It Can Wait and he travels the country talking to others about the dangers of texting and driving and the impact it can have on their lives and the lives of others.
Drivers who text have a 35% decrease in reaction, are unable to stay in lanes, and cannot maintain a safe driving distance (Full Coverage Auto Insurances). In comparison, drunk drivers have a twelve percent decrease in reaction time, are able to stay in their lane and can maintain a safe driving distance (Full Coverage Auto Insurances).
Some simple ways to prevent yourself and others from texting and driving is to hand the phone to someone else, pull off the road to respond to a text or email, or just wait until you get to your destination or a rest stop to respond (911 Driving). Technology can also help. There are apps that can automatically send a text that says you are driving at the moment. AT&T’s Drive Mode app automatically sends replies to incoming texts to let others know that you’re driving. When the app is opened, all of your incoming calls, texts, and emails are put on silent. However, it does let you receive or make calls with up to five people, call 911, and access your music.
Another helpful app, DriveSafe.ly will read your texts, emails and calls aloud so that you can focus on driving or it lets you respond with your voice or responds automatically for you (Mashable.com). Apple’s personal assistant, Siri, can read incoming text messages to you and transcribe messages you dictate.
Another useful app that can prevent texting and driving accidents is Cell Control, which disables the ability to text, email, surf the web, and use social media. This app can be set up in just 3 steps. You create an account online, download the app, and put the DriveID behind the rearview mirror in your car. The DriveID is also motion activated, so when you start driving, you and your passengers will be protected from the phone’s distractions. DriveID is solar powered, so you will always be protected when driving (Cellcontrol.com).
Some cars have features that allows drivers to interact with their phones hands-free. Ford has a SYNC operating system that can send texts dictated by the driver and also has a MyKey feature that allows parents to block calls and texts when teenagers are driving. It also includes a feature that reads incoming texts aloud (Huffingtonpost.com). General Motors has an eye-tracking technology that can detect when drivers look at their phones (Huffingtonpost.com). In 2015, BMW released plans for gesture control that allows drivers to take calls just by pointing at the navigation screen (Huffingtonpost.com).
Distractology 101 is a simulation created by the University of Massachusetts. The simulator is housed in a trailer that travels around to Massachusetts high schools that shows novice drivers the dangers of distracted driving. It has some of the major components of a car: the steering wheel, the brake pedal, the gas pedal, three large screens, and the side and rearview mirror screens. Close to 10,000 drivers have completed the Distractology 101 training, which consists of a forty-five minute instructional learning experience behind the wheel and a twenty minute web reinforcement showing what the students learned. Distractology 101 has toured for more than four years and more than one hundred high schools have participated in the simulation. A junior at Assabet Regional Technical High School said that “You always think it is not that hard, but it actually is very hard. You only have to look away for two seconds and you can crash” (Communityadvocate.com). A junior at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School had this to say about the simulation, “It teaches you that no matter what you’re doing, whatever distraction it is, it can get you into something very serious and it shows you that you must keep your guard up even when it’s your right of way,” (WBSM.com).
I feel that texting and driving is a problem that we can fix. If society takes it seriously, we can decrease the number of accidents. Simple apps on your phone can prevent a tragedy. Drivers are over-confident in their ability to multi-task behind the wheel. As a new driver myself, I am more aware of the responsibility of driving. There are so many things to pay attention to while driving. Why add another distraction? Texting and driving is something that has a profound effect on the lives of us and the lives around us, but I believe that, if we all work together to educate the drivers of the world, we can make the roads a safer place for people of all ages.