Automobile crashes as a result of texting while driving is an epidemic that has taken our nation by storm over the past decade. Whether people think they can safely type on their phone while driving, or just don’t think there is any real danger in the act does not matter. Texting while driving has had significant impacts on car accidents. Our state governments have had to take action to both add uniformity to the laws and punishments bestowed on the offenders. Cell phone use while driving is a hot-button issue and with cellphone and texting bans in place it is still questionable of their effectiveness.
Everyone has a cell phone. When it goes off while they are driving whether it is a message, social media or a phone call, curiosity seems to get the best of them and they feel as if they have to look now. By reading texts, social media and any other written phone alert, one has to stop and read the message or update and eyes are taken off of the road for longer than the recommended time of the one second, it takes to check the rearview mirror. It is extremely dangerous to type or read while driving. It is a hazard to everyone on the road, so it is not just one life at risk.
Texting and driving is one of the largest epidemics to sweep our nation. The progression of text messaging, with more capable phones and larger numbers of people engaging than ever before, has turned into one of the largest distractions in our world. People are constantly fixated on their phones, checking Twitter, Facebook and text messages. The use of a cell phone while
driving is extremely distracting and dangerous to the person behind the wheel, and everyone else on the road as well. Every year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of
16 and 19 were the result of using their cell phone while behind the wheel. This statistic is expected to grow as much as 4% every year. A new study led by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital used data from a national survey to examine the effectiveness of state-level cellphone laws in decreasing teens' use of cellphones while driving. The study, done in conjunction with researchers from West Virginia University and the University of Minnesota, and published today in Journal of Adolescent Health, looked at state-level cellphone laws and differences in both texting and hand-held cellphone conversations among teen drivers across four years. Some evidence that all-phone bans directed at teenage drivers do not affect their phone use. The study found differences in the effectiveness of the laws for teen drivers' cellphone use based on the type of ban – hand-held phone conversations or texting – as well as whether the ban applied to young drivers or all drivers (universal). Teen drivers reported 55% fewer hand-held phone conversations when universal hand-held calling bans were in place compared to state with no bans. Universal texting bans did not fully discourage teens from texting while driving. Bans limited to just young drivers were not effective in reducing either hand-held conversations or texting. Even with laws in place, about one-third of teen drivers are still talking on the phone and texting while driving.
Almost all U.S. states have laws limiting drivers’ cellphone use. The evidence suggests that all-driver bans on hand-held phone conversations have resulted in long-term reductions in hand-held phone use, and drivers in ban states reported higher rates of hands-free phone use and lower overall phone use compared with drivers in non-ban states. Bans on all phone use by teenage drivers have not been shown to reduce their phone use.
But, this is not just a problem among teen drivers. One-fifth of adult drivers in the United States also report sending text messages while driving (“Cell Phone & Texting Accidents”). To combat this problem, the United States government much take a stronger stance and pass legislation that unifies texting while driving laws and punishments, as well as installing much more education about the dangers of texting behind the wheel to convey the much needed message to the future drivers of the United States.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety High Loss Data reports in 2014, in the past, strong laws, with strong and publicized enforcement, have been effective in changing driver behavior and reducing crashes. Almost all U.S. states have laws limiting drivers’ phone use. Research on effects of laws on driver behavior have found the following to be true: All-driver bans on hand-held phone conversations reduced observed rates of hand-held phone conversations. Drivers in ban states reported higher rates of hands-free phone use and lower overall phone use compared with drivers in non-ban states.
The effects of texting bans on the rates of drivers’ texting are unknown. With regard to the effects of bans on crashes, 11 peer-reviewed papers or technical reports of all-driver hand-held phone bans and texting bans were reviewed. Some were single-state studies examining crash measures before and after a state ban; other national or multi-state studies compared crashes in states with and without bans over time. The results varied widely. The lack of appropriate controls and other challenges in conducting strong evaluations limited the findings of some studies. Thus, despite the proliferation of laws limiting drivers’ cellphone use, it is unclear whether they are having the desired effects on safety. Priorities for future research are suggested (“Driver Cellphone and Texting Bans in the United States: Evidence of Effectiveness”). This same study issued the report stating the effects of texting bans on crashes also are unclear. There
were two peer-reviewed papers and one technical report. In an analysis of insurance collision claim rates in four ban states and control states without bans, significant small increases in three states and no change in the fourth state. Two cross-state national studies had mixed findings and both had limitations. One study found single-vehicle, single-occupant fatal crashes were lower in states with stronger texting bans (all-driver, primary enforcement) compared with states without bans. The second study found no significant effects on number of fatalities associated with texting bans. The conclusions for this study are as follows: despite increasing number of laws limiting phone use, it is unclear if they are having the intended effects on behavior and crashes. This is due to the unsettled science regarding crash risks associated with phone use makes it difficult to formulate reasonable hypotheses about expected ban effects or to choose appropriate crash measures as well as police crash reports unreliable in identifying crashes attributable to distraction. The other significant challenges limited findings of some studies often are due to the often lack of study designs, law enforcement out of compliance, and the enforcement type, and specific provisions of laws vary across states and over time.
The article, “Texting while driving: Does banning it make a difference” discussed another study from researchers found that car-crash hospitalizations dipped in states that instituted relatively strict bans on texting and driving between 2003 and 2010. Overall, the hospitalization rate in those states declined by 7 percent versus states with no bans, the researchers report in the American Journal of Public Health. The findings cannot prove that texting bans caused the shift, said study leader Alva Ferdinand, an assistant professor at Texas A&M School of Public Health. She also added that her team tried to account for the other factors that could explain the decline — like laws on speeding, drunk driving, handheld cellphones and teen driving restrictions. Texting bans were still linked to a decline in
hospitalizations for traffic accidents. Specifically, the benefit was seen in states with "primarily enforced" texting bans, Ferdinand said. That means law enforcement can pull drivers over just on suspicion of texting. "Some states have secondary enforcement," Ferdinand explained. "In those states, law enforcement has to catch you doing something else first — like speeding or running a red light — and then determine that you were texting."
Even hands-free devices that allow us to talk on the phone while driving with both hands on the wheel are still a hazard. Studies have shown that while talking to someone on the phone your brain is putting a; lot of its energy into the conversation. This means that less of your brain is focused on driving the car. Yes, that could also mean a conversation with someone in the car is dangerous but you add in bad reception, how uncomfortable the hands-free earpieces are to wear and the annoyance of static or wind and you have a worse distraction. Driving requires a lot of focus and full attention. Distracted driving affects all drivers from time to time but can come with stiff consequences. Unfocused or distracted driving does not affect all drivers the same. Some frequently and to greater magnitudes pay less attention to the road, increasing their risk for disaster. However, it is important to note that it takes one time and perhaps the smallest of distractions to cause an accident. Acknowledging that even minor distractions can affect your ability to drive and cause disastrous consequences could prevent a serious accident.
Lynda Tran, spokeswoman for NHTSA, says that when it comes to distracted driving one thing is clear: "Any activities that take extended focus away from the primary task of driving are both unsafe and unwise. The bottom line is there's no good reason to engage in distracted driving." Whatever it is can almost always wait until you get where you are going. If it can’t wait, stop to look for the safety of everyone on the roads. It may not be as convenient, but we won’t lose nearly as many lives to people being distracted with cellphones, blue tooth devices, or
by social media. Bottom line, even if we all believe we excel in multitasking and hands free driving laws are all in place, any cell phone use at all is especially dangerous, because people have to take their hands off the wheel, their eyes off the road and their minds off of what they're doing. People frequently drive distracted without any consequences. It seems to be a part of our everyday lives. It is the lack of awareness and the commonality of it which makes it so dangerous. Most people think that nothing will ever happen to them until, one day, it does. It only takes a split second of distraction to create a lifetime of pain and suffering. Remember, driving is a privilege and decisions do not only affect just one but other people on the road too.