Texting and Driving should be Stopped

Introduction:

Attention getter: Imagine you were driving and suddenly you get a text message. Hearing the text message ringtone makes you start thinking about who sent the message and what the text is about. You eventually decide to pick up your phone and start texting, next thing you know you got hit by a car.

Relevance: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nearly 500,000 young adults are injured each year due to distracted driving, with texting and driving even more deadly than drunk driving. Our society is one where multi-tasking has become second nature and communication is instant resulting in people being overly confident in their ability to 'safely' text while driving.

Credibility: The reason why I am giving this speech is because, I have had a friend that was injured due to someone texting and driving. Reducing texting while driving can save many people's lives.

Preview: Today I will be talking about: The severe dangers of dangers of texting and driving, What can we do to stop it from happening and persuading everyone to stop texting while driving.

Transition: First I will inform you on how dangerous texting and driving is:

Body:

A. According to Texting and Driving Statistics: Texting Thumb Bands website, The minimal time your attention is off the road while texting is 5 seconds, which at a speed of 55mph you would have traveled the length of a football field without looking at the road.

B. Here are some frightening facts according to StopTextsStopWrecks.org:

1. Distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens
2. A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texter.
3. Texting while driving is 6 times more dangerous than driving while being drunk.
4. Distracted driving causes 25% of all accidents, 1.6 million a year and 330,000 injuries per year.

Transition: Now that you are aware of how lethal texting while driving is, Let's look at how we can stop this from happening.

Solution: There are many things we can do to overcome this dangerous habit of our generation.

A. According to the NHTSA at Distracted Driving: Distraction.gov, Since 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation has launched a variety of creative campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of texting and driving. Many states have stepped up to pass tough laws against texting, talking on a cell phone, and other distractions.

B. How will you stop texting and driving? StopTextsStopWrecks lists a few tips:

1. Out of sight, out of mind. Put your phone somewhere out of reach so you can't get to it while driving.
2. Silence is golden. Turn off the notifications so you won't be tempted to look at your phone.
3. Find your app. There are applications that can help you stop texting and driving.
4. Designate a texter. Use an extra pair of thumbs and let your passenger text for you.

Transition: In conclusion

Conclusion

A. We discussed how dangerous texting and driving really is.

B. Went over solutions to resolve this epidemic.

C. Persuaded you to refrain from texting and driving.

Many teens and young adults feel like nothing bad will ever happen to them and they can beat the odds but please don't let that be you and become a statistic STOP texting while driving!

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