Multitasking While Driving

Dilkanth Patel
C.Ornelas
Eng 221: KGA 1
March 29, 2011
Multitasking while driving

There are many consequences when multitasking while driving it is not just dangerous for the person committing the crime but also for the individuals around them. Drivers that are doing more than one thing at once while driving tend to focus off the road and pay more attention to other tasks. Current motor vehicle law prohibits texting while driving, but does not focus on the other tasks that can lead to severe accidents. There are many disasters that can occur if you are focusing on other things while driving. Carnegie Mellon University studies shows that multitasking while driving can negatively affect the performance of all tasks, especially degrades the ability to drive. If men and women were more informed of the consequences and were to take action against this, there would be less accidents and driving would be safer than it is now. The California law precisely focuses on texting while driving which is ineffective because it is not the only cause of accidents; therefore, the law should prohibit all forms of multi-tasking while driving.
Historically, texting was introduced in the later in the 20th century and adopted in the 21st century. Texting is when a person sends a text message through his or her phone. Texting became popular to consumers and it began to be dangerous to society when used while driving. As texting started becoming popular throughout the years, it created a problem to society. To resolve the issue driving laws were introduced on September 24, 2008 by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even after it was lawed to be illegal, the consequences still continue today. The law is not enforced enough to resolve this issue.
To create a solution to talking and driving, hands free was created but conversations sometimes tend to be so interesting that causes the person to lose track of the road, which leads to an accident. Studies have proven that multitasking while driving affects the brain (Atkins, 2008). People need to be informed about the consequences more and laws should be stricter to prevent future accidents and a safer driving experience. If young teenagers that are starting to drive were more informed about the causes of multitasking while driving, it would help significantly drop the accident rate, since 52% of teens talk on the cellphone while they drive (Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics ).
Presently, both men and women of older and younger generation are being affected by this problem in several ways. Whether the person may be driving or simply walking on the road, the effects of multitasking can harm either and even both. The consequences can be life threatening. After interviewing Sgt. Brad Cornelius Beverly hills police department regarding texting while driving, he states that collisions have increased because of texting while driving, state wide and nation-wide. When asked if he had any personal experiences regarding this problem he said “enforce the laws, step up the reinforcement, provide more information to schools, some students unclear about the laws” (A. D. Ackerman, Interviewer) Sgt. Brad also had a personal experience regarding this issue; his daughter was 16 and had less than 6 months of driving experience and was hit by a driver using his cellphone. This caused his daughter to hit a tree at 50mph and she is still recovering, but brain damaged and will never fully recover because now her quality of life has changed.
Multitasking while driving can cause a variety of problems depending on what is being done while driving, the consequences can be life threatening. Some drivers tend to read a book or eat a sandwich while they drive. These actions can be very dangerous. Many times quick decisions are needed to be made while driving. If you are reading a book or a magazine you risk being distracted and causing an accident. Many times people get so into what they are doing, whether it may be eating a burger or flipping pages in a magazine they forget to turn on their light signals and make a turn anyway. Eating a sandwich and spilling ketchup on your lap and trying to wipe it after may cause off-sight of the road which is also dangerous. It is sad that drive-through is still very popular for traveling motorists.
Many individuals do not have financial coverage and this leads to the tax payers to pay for their action. The number of uninsured Americans is nearly 50.7 million according to USA today. This is a great number of people, the population of America is nearly 300 million, 1/6th of Americans actually have insurance. Tax payers have to pay for all those who do not have insurance if they get into an accident. Yet, there is nothing being done about this cause. Laws are not enforced enough to keep issues like this one away. Even worse, if no law is created to stop this issue, hundreds of lives will be lost. Even if something is done really quickly, it does not necessarily mean it will be ok if you do it while you driving. It is not only putting the driver at risk but also the people driving around him. The number of deaths while driving are as high as 42,636 per year (U.S. Driving Fatalities, Total and Alcohol-Related, 2005). It tends to increase year by year, which is not a good sign. Future drivers need to be educated and informed of the effects multitasking and driving can cause. Something needs to be done to resolve this issue and the only person we have to blame is ourselves for not taking action to change it. We must do something while we still have the chance. Supporters of texting while driving argue that whatever task they are doing while driving, it is being done “carefully”. Even if you think your being careful does not necessarily mean it will have no consequences, nobody can predict the future. It may seem like an alternative but sometimes many individuals get so into what the conversation is about rather then what they are doing and it can lead to an accident. Anything done while driving, can never be considered safe. Those who stand for multitasking and driving argue that hands free devices are an alternative to holding your cellphone and talking. Social communications can also be a dangerous distraction causing accidents. Conversations can be so intense in some cases that the driver might glimpse away from the road and look at the person who is speaking. Sometimes this can be risky, due to the fact that even a simple mistake can cause a terrible accident. Many times children tend to make disruptions by throwing things and rough housing while an individual is driving. Sometimes this can cause the driver to look back at them and miss a potential hazard. These actions can all lead to something serious. Hands free devices are not a solution to this problem. The California law for driving may become stricter as years go by, hopefully. However, people will probably continue text to message while driving and risk their lives. Knowing that it can lead to serious consequences, people still do what they want. It is legal to do many things while driving, but is it the right thing to do? Is it worth putting your life in danger to eat a sandwich because you are hungry? It is decisions one must take upon themselves, and choose what is right the thing to do vs. what needs to be done. California driving laws regarding texting while driving is ineffective and it is not the only cause of accidents, newer laws need to take place to fix this issue.

Bibliography
Atkins, W. (2008, May 8). Brain on overload during multitasking while driving. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from ItWire: http://www.itwire.com/science-news/health/18133-brain-on-overload-during-multitasking-while-driving
Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics . (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2011, from Edgar Snydar A law firm representing injured people: http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cell-phone/statistics.html
Cornelius, S. B. (2010, February 23). Police Officer. (A. D. Ackerman, Interviewer)
"No excuse for multitasking behind the wheel.” The Brandon Sun 21 Mar. 2011, Canadian Newsstand Complete, ProQuest. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.
U.S. Driving Fatalities, Total and Alcohol-Related. (2005, October). Retrieved May 5, 2011, from infoplease: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908129.html
Wolf, R. (2010, September 17). Number of uninsured Americans rises to 50.7 million. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from USAtoday: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-17-uninsured17_ST_N.htm
Yadegaran, J. (2010, May 6). Multitaskers may be falling behind. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Los Angelos Times: http://www.latimes.com/theguide/mothers-day/sc-fam-0506-multitask-20100506,0,5160075.story

Bibliography: Atkins, W. (2008, May 8). Brain on overload during multitasking while driving. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from ItWire: http://www.itwire.com/science-news/health/18133-brain-on-overload-during-multitasking-while-driving Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics . (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2011, from Edgar Snydar A law firm representing injured people: http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cell-phone/statistics.html Cornelius, S. B. (2010, February 23). Police Officer. (A. D. Ackerman, Interviewer) "No excuse for multitasking behind the wheel.” The Brandon Sun 21 Mar. 2011, Canadian Newsstand Complete, ProQuest. Web.  10 Apr. 2011. U.S. Driving Fatalities, Total and Alcohol-Related. (2005, October). Retrieved May 5, 2011, from infoplease: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908129.html Wolf, R. (2010, September 17). Number of uninsured Americans rises to 50.7 million. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from USAtoday: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-17-uninsured17_ST_N.htm Yadegaran, J. (2010, May 6). Multitaskers may be falling behind. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Los Angelos Times: http://www.latimes.com/theguide/mothers-day/sc-fam-0506-multitask-20100506,0,5160075.story