Texting, Googling and Talking Effects People’s Ability to Focus on the Road

According to Florida Virtual School, “Distracted driving affects all drivers from time to time but can come with stiff consequences”. According to the balance.com, “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.” There’s been quite a bit of social media attention due to distracted driving generally talking, texting, and googling on your cellular device.

The Department of Transportation has demonstrated the dangers of talking, texting, and googling while driving. One study found that 23 times more likely to crash because they were distracted by their devices. Someone who is talking, texting and/or googling on their device is most likely to get into a crash than someone who has been drinking and driving. There were at least 96% of people who knew it was against the law but proceeded to do it anyway.

The general theory of the following (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990) suppose that levels of self-control are tied to deviant behaviors such as texting. Once a person is on their cellular device they tend to freeze up for a second so they can focus and read what was sent or googled up. This includes talking on the phone; once a person answers the phone they get caught up in the conversation that some may run through a red light or a stop sign on accident because they claimed they didn’t see it.

According to Liggettlawgroup.com, “Many drivers, particularly teenagers, who run stop signs do so because they believe no one else is at the intersection. This is a dangerous assumption. Drivers should always stop so they can take a careful look at their surroundings. Another common reason for running stop signs is that the driver is distracted.” 4 out of every student between ages 18 and 24 are considered easily distracted drivers. One-fifth of adult drivers out of the United States send text messages while driving. According to thebalance.com, “Banning cellphone usage is a law that has come about because of the high level of distraction from the devices and the number of people using them.” “Some states ban all usage while others ban only texting.” According to www.porknetwork.com, “As of November 2018, 47 states; Washington, D.C.; Guam; Puerto Rico; and the” U.S. Virgin Islands ban texting and driving.” Many experts compare using a cellphone while driving to drinking and driving due to the high level of distraction and the amount of time the driver's eyes are off the road.”

According to balance.com, “If you are caught using a cellphone in a way that is banned, you could be pulled over and ticketed by a police officer. Fines vary and insurance carriers will likely address the violation by adding a surcharge to your car insurance policy at your next policy renewal. Many drivers, particularly teenagers, who run stop signs do so because they believe no one else is at the intersection. This is a dangerous assumption.” Drivers should always stop so they can take a careful look at their surroundings.” Here are a few common reasons as to why and how people are easily distracted and how they run stop signs and red lights. “Distracted driving is incredibly dangerous at all speeds. People who are driving distracted are essentially driving with blindfolds over their eyes.

According to Florida Virtual School, “Teenagers are not the only ones guilty. According to a survey conducted by AT&T and North Scott Senior, “49 percent of American adult drivers admitted they text while driving. In that same survey, more than 90 percent of drivers” know to text while driving is dangerous.” So why are we still doing it? According to Florida Virtual School, “Experts believe we compulsively check our phones because every time we get an alert on our phone our brain sends out a signal that makes us feel happy.” “Drivers are saying they continue to do this because it’s a habit, like to stay connected and it makes them feel more productive.” According to Florida Virtual School, “States are now enforcing strict texting while driving laws and public services like AT&T’s campaign It Can Wait are working hard to educate the public on the dangers and consequences.

Nearly half (48%) of drivers admit to answering their cell phones while driving.” “Of those who answered their phones while driving, 58% of drivers continued to drive while talking on the phone.” “In the survey, 24% of drivers reported that they are willing to make a phone call while driving.” “One in 10 drivers surveyed said that, at least sometimes, they send text messages or emails while driving.” “Of the drivers surveyed, 14% said they read text messages or emails while driving.” According to commonsensation.org, “A majority of respondents supported laws that banned talking on cell phones, texting, or emailing while driving. You may know that texting and driving are bad, but may not understand just how bad it really is. It’s estimated that approximately 660,000 drivers are using an electronic device while driving at any given time during the day.2 that prevalence is where a lot of the danger lies. With so many people on the road using highly distracting devices, the potential for accidents—and thus injuries and fatalities—is incredibly high.”

According to Southlake Christian Academy, it states, “A study using a driving simulator found that participants who engaged in hands-free phone conversations took longer to react to a car slowing down ahead of them compared to those who drove without conversation. This driving-while-talking effect was exacerbated when there was high traffic density because there were more attentional demands on the driver.” “Research also shows that when people are talking on the phone, crash risk quadruples. Drivers who are on a call are about equally at risk as is someone driving at the legal limit of blood alcohol content. In one simulated-driving environment, drivers who were on their phones got into significantly more accidents than the drunk drivers.” “Importantly, in all the driving-while-talking research, there is little to no difference in impairment between drivers using hands-free and hand-held phones. Because it’s an issue of attention—and there is an only minimal extra distraction when picking up or holding a phone—it doesn’t really help to use a hands-free device.

Merely thinking about something other than the road is enough to strain attention and increase your risk of a crash.” “Despite this, intuition tells us that as long as our eyes are on the road, we perceive what’s in front of us. It’s easy to imagine the risks of removing your eyes from the road and your hands from the steering wheel, but not as easy to see the risks of divided attention. This is likely part of the reason (or, shall I say, driving force) behind the ill-informed policies that prohibit hands-on talking and texting but allow hands-free conversations.”

In conclusion, I have stated the effects as to why texting, calling and googling while driving is another way to call it a death sentence. Some people may argue that they feel like using their cellular devices is the same as talking on the phone. It is wrong, texting on your device creates a phase such as repeatedly looking at the road and your device and even looking at both of them at the same time.

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