Distracted Driving Cause And Effect Essay

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Causes and effects of Distracted Driving How many times do drivers take their eyes off of the road while driving? Whether it’s from using your cell phone, music or passengers. Every day, over 16 Americans are killed and over 1,300 are injured in car accidents that involve a distracted driver (Simon). The major distractions are taking their eyes off the road, mind off driving and hands off the wheel. When doing one or more of these distractions, it makes drivers more likely to have an accident. We have all been driving and seen a car that was not following the road regulations and noticed that they were on their cell phone. Studies have shown that drivers are not aware of their distracted driving ability (Kidd and Horrey). Using a cell phone is one of the main causes of distracted driving because it uses your manual, mental and visual abilities. "We compulsively check our phones because every time we get an update through text, email, or social media, we experience an elevation of dopamine, which is a neurochemical in the brain that makes us feel happy," said Greenfield. According to AT & T and Dr. David Greenfield, founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, the beep of a cell phone can provide a natural high that most people can 't resist (Mlot). When talking on the cell phone while driving, drivers must take one of their hands off of the wheel and take their eyes off the road to dial and aren’t focused on driving but on the person are talking to. Texting on the phone is even more dangerous because you are 23 times more likely to be in an accident and there are 100,000 accidents a year involved in texting while driving (Hall). There are other distractions that can cause accidents while driving. If a driver is always on the go or in a hurry, they might eat while driving. When eating while driving, the food or drink could spill all over the driver. The driver then has to react to the spill and the road very quickly. A survey from Insure.com finds that just about any food in the car can be dangerous enough to cause distracted driving (O 'Connor). When driving, everyone loves riding around listening to our favorite song. We roll all the windows down, hair blowing …show more content…
The effects of distracted driving can leave people injured, disabled or worse dead. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 were injured in accidents involving a distracted driver (Harman). Because of the many accidents caused from distracted driving, the effects of new laws have been created. There is now a ban on texting and driving and many signs on the highway that remind us not to do so. Distracted driving can be very dangerous to drivers, passengers and even pedestrians. Tasks such as eating, listening to music or cell phone use can cause fatal accidents and injuries. Now there is a ban on texting and driving to stop distracted driving from happening. Tougher laws may be alluring as a deterrent to this behavior, but according to the data in this study, 96 % of respondents knew it was against the law but continued to text and drive anyway (Quisenberry). This shows that it is up to us to make the decision to stop distracted driving and accidents caused by

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