Distracted Driving Essay

Everyone knows you shouldn’t drive distracted. Looking down for even a second while eating, adding condiments to your hotdog, changing the song on your playlist or occasionally checking your text messages could result in lifelong injury or even death. Although, how serious is this in the modern day world? With hands free calling and other technological advances, is distracted driving not as big of an issue as it was 10 or maybe even 20 years ago?
Distracted driving happens when a person is operating a vehicle and partakes in a different activity that divides his/her attention. This usually happens when someone is using an electronic related device. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other agencies there
For example, Mark Stevens is a multitasking maniac. A couple of months ago [in 2007], the White Plains, New York, marketing consultant was working his cell phone with one hand and his Blackberry with the other while trying to steer his Mercedes SL500 with his wrists and knees—when he plowed it into a rental vehicle in an Enterprise parking lot. That followed his fourth ticket in four years for talking on his cell phone while driving (Multitasking Leads to Distracted Driving, 1). Although this is an example of an extreme case, there’s a little bit of Mark Stevens in us too. Distracted driving is becoming an epidemic. A recent survey by Nationwide Insurance quantified some of the trend's scary dimensions. More than 80 percent of drivers surveyed identified themselves as multitaskers. Sixty-eight percent eat while driving; texting or instant-messaging while driving, or fixing hair, is practiced by 19 percent of drivers; 14 percent comfort or discipline children while behind the wheel; and 8 percent drive with a pet in their laps (Multitasking Leads to Distracted Driving, 2). Even weather conditions seem to have little effect on a driver's ability to multitask. An extreme snowstorm or heavy rain doesn’t stop the most cautious drivers from doing outlandish things behind the wheel, including reading, shaving and balancing their
Smartphone apps that temporarily disable incoming text messages and other driving distractions can be turned on manually before the driver starts the car, or can kick in automatically when the phone's motion sensor detects an appropriate amount of acceleration. For parents installing the app on their children's phones, the program automatically sends a message if the teenager disables the software. (Eyes on the Road, Not on the Phone, 1). This will solve some of the distracted driving issues, but at stop signs and red lights the child could re access the phone and its applications. This could cause them to not pay attention and hit the back of another car or drive slowly in order to access their phone. Another safety measure are that rumble strips have also been added to reduce the number of crashes. This way when a driver is being distracted and drifts out of their lanes, the rumbling that the ridges make will bring them back into their lanes. According to Bill Windsor, an associate vice president of safety for Columbus-based Nationwide Insurance, "Driver behavior is only getting worse. Car design and safety features have helped reduce fatalities over the last 10 years, but there are signs—such as an increase in fatalities among pedestrians and motorcyclists—that problems with driving behavior are starting to outstrip vehicle and roadway