One of the largest problems society faces today is driving with distractions like a phone. There isn’t a day when you don’t see people either talking on the phone in the car next to you or texting, updating their Facebook status or even worse….tweeting. This is not only extremely dangerous to their safety but also to the drivers or pedestrians around them! No matter what way you put it; cell phones are the most dangerous thing in a driver’s possession.

The worst part about cell phones is that people don’t think they are doing anything wrong while using them in the car. It’s not like they are addicted to drugs or driving under the influence, they are just using their phone. Yes, using your phone is fine to make a quick phone call or text but not in the car. Texting while driving is more prevalent among teens and young adults as appose to the older generations, but with every rule there is an exception. Studies have proven that texting increases the chance of crashing by 23 times! Is sending a text message more important than getting killed in a preventable accident? A recent study by Car and Driver, a company made to educate people about the severity of distractions while driving, shows that it took someone driving while intoxicated less time to react to a crash than a person who was texting, by many feet. Another study from this organization shows that in society, most people believe driving while drunk is more dangerous than texting, yet the results show something different. Yes, while driving under the influence is an enormous problem in society, driving while texting is too.

It’s not just texting that is a problem with phones, its also making calls. Most people believe that talking on the phone does not impair their driving whatsoever, but the opposite is true. Talking on the phone while driving doesn’t seem like a crime, yet it causes many accidents and deaths. A lot of people understand that driving while talking on the phone is dangerous but they can’t resist so they try alternative methods. Studies show that a lot of these methods do not help substantially. A study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) states that talking on another device, such as a hands free system while driving isn’t that much better than using a phone. It’s not necessarily the holding part of the phone that’s distracting while talking but the mental thought going into a conversation, not to mention how nerve racking it is for an innocent driver. Imagine you are focusing on your driving and out of the corner of your eye you see someone swerving in and out of the lanes because they are talking on their phone. You’re trying to dodge them but there is nothing you can do. They swerve into you then you crash. This is unfair to the innocent person who has done nothing wrong, not to mention crashes can cause serious injury and law suits for the driver talking on the phone.

The only way to fix the issue of using your phone while driving is to educate all about the dangers of using them. I’m not saying all problems will disappear; no matter what is done, there will still be people who insist on using their phones while driving. But we can highly reduce the rate of deaths and accidents by educating people with statistics. If people were told some devastating stories about accidents that involved people who use their phones and drive, they are more apt to not be distracted by it. Other things society can do as a whole is to pass laws prohibiting the use of cell phones in the car. Yes, there are laws prohibiting texting while driving but they obviously are not working The laws took time, money and statistics to be created they deserve to be enforced! They need strict punishments like high fines or licenses to be taken away for a period of time if the crime is committed. If there are not strict punishments people will not have an incentive to follow these rules and they will be ineffective. As they say, a law is only as good as it is enforced.

As you can see, texting while driving and being on your phone are major distractions and can be fatal or result in the injury of yourself or someone else. It is nothing to take lightly; there must be change or soon the statistics of accidents and deaths will become higher than what they are! Laws need to be established about the issue and people need to be educated. With these steps, society can greatly reduce the number of deaths and accidents due to distractions with cell phones in the car.




Works Cited

"Distracted Driving | Facts and Stats | Texting and Driving." Distracted Driving | Facts and Stats | Texting and Driving. N.p., Jan. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. <http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html>.

"Texting While Driving: How Dangerous Is It?" Car and Driver. N.p., Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. <http://www.caranddriver.com/features/texting-while-driving-how-dangerous-is-it>.