Distracted Driving Research Paper

Operating a motorized vehicle while distracted is one of the most dangerous decisions a person can make. Yet, everyone does it at some point in their life; whether it is from operating electronic devices, day dreaming, or the numerous other distractions that occur while driving. Distracted driving is the leading cause of fatality crashes and one in every five car crashes involved some form of distracted driving. Drivers must make a conscience decision to remain focused on the road and not become distracted by technology and outside influences. Distracted driving is categorized in three different forms: cognitive, visual, and manual distractions. A cognitive or mental distraction is when a drivers mind isn’t focused on driving. For instance, a driver may be engaged in talking with another passenger, listing to music, or day
Cell phone use combines all three distracted driving components, cognitive, visual and manual, which is why it is so dangerous. Texting while driving increases your crash risk by 23 times higher than driving while not distracted (Olson); yet, more than 37% of drivers admitted to sending and receiving text messages while driving and 18 percent do so regularly. Fatal accidents involving cell phone was 24 percent for drivers between the age of 30-39 and 22 percent for divers under the age of 20. Some real life examples of people who were killed due to cell phone use were: Alex Brown, a 17-year-old from Wellman, TX crashed her truck on November 10th, 2009 because she was texting; Erica Forney, a 9-year-old who was riding her bike near her home when a neighbor looked at her cell phone and never saw Erica in her path. The accident occurred on November 25, 2008 and she died on Thanksgiving Day; and law enforcement officer John T. Gordon, who was riding his motorcycle when a young man swerved into oncoming traffic, striking john and killing him instantly from a broken neck