The Hazards of Texting While Driving
The habit of texting and driving, currently, stands out as the most prevalent issue in the current society. The danger associated with texting and driving can be attributed to the impact it has in distracting drivers from the road. While most people who text and drive think it is “harmless” since it only takes a few minutes to reply to or send a message, it is critical to note that it only takes seconds to crash. The effects of texting and driving have been established to result in instances where such drivers veer off their lane, increasing the possibility of being engaged in gruesome crashes (Teen Drive Admin, 2019). Despite the numerous hazards associated with texting and driving, very few people seem to think of it as an issue. This is evident in a report by TeenSafe that established, 55% of teenagers and 77% of adult drivers believe that they can effectively multitask between driving and sending messages (Teen Drive Admin, 2019). It is paramount to note that this assumption is far from the truth since texting and driving increases the risk of crashing by 23% (Teen Drive Admin, 2019).
Even though texting and driving does not always result in fatalities, the act has been directly linked to traffic-related deaths. According to a report published by the “National Safety Council”, the use of cell phones has resulted in more than 1.6 million car crashes each year (Teen Drive Admin, 2019). Equally, these habits have also been noted to cause the major and gruesome crashes, contrasted to drunk driving. Additional statistics on the risks linked to texting and driving habits indicates that one out of every four car crashes that take place in the United States are influenced by mobile phone use. Furthermore, at least eleven teens die each day because of texting and driving. Thus, at least 3,000 teenagers die each year due to the act (Teen Drive Admin, 2019).
The high number of traffic crashes linked to these two driving habits is affected by three major factors that cause distraction when driving which include visual, cognitive, and manual distractions. Visual distractions simply influence a driver’s visual concentration on the road while driving (Moore & Brown, 2019). Manual distraction refers to any reason that may make drivers take both or one hand from the steering wheel. Texting while driving evidently requires drivers to take off their hands from the wheel to respond to messages, making them veer off the road and incapable of effectively responding to any emergency that may occur on the road (Moore & Brown, 2019). Cognitive distraction is manifested through texting and driving since the act results in the driver taking his or her mind off the road and focusing on the conversation they are being engaged in (Moore & Brown, 2019).
While the fatalities that are caused by texting and driving are completely preventable, there has been no noteworthy decline in the fatalities incurred. The reason behind this is that mobile devices are increasingly being incorporated into our lives with little education on when and where they should be used (Moore & Brown, 2019). Additionally, the biased assumptions associated with texting and driving, whereby most people believe that it causes little to no harm since it only takes seconds, adds to the problem (Moore & Brown, 2019). To eliminate such myths, more public awareness regarding texting and driving should be conducted. This way, it becomes possible to prevent the high number of fatalities that are caused by texting and driving.
References
Moore, M. M., & Brown, P. M. (2019). The association of self-regulation, habit, and mindfulness with texting while driving. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 123, 20-28.
Teen Drive Admin. (2019). Why Is Texting and Driving Dangerous? TeenSafe. https://teensafe.com/why-is-texting-and-driving-dangerous/