Texting while driving is a form of distracted driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), driving while texting is six times more dangerous than drunk driving. Studies also show that texting while driving makes a driver 23 times more likely to meet an accident. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety claims that texting while driving kills 11 teens each day. These are just some of the alarming statistics related to texting while driving.
There are a lot of reasons why texting while driving should not be legalized. Texting while driving exhibits the three main types of distraction while driving. The first type is visual distraction. In texting, the driver takes his eyes off the road. Second, texting is a manual distraction because the driver takes his hands off the wheel. Third, texting is a cognitive distraction because it takes the driver’s mind off driving. Having all these characteristics, it can be concluded that texting is one of the most dangerous type of distracted driving. The 2011 figures reveal that 3,331 people died from crashes involving a distracted driver. Furthermore, statistics show that in the US more than 9 people are killed per day and more than 1,060 people are injured in crashes involving distracted driving. There are already several risks or unanticipated distractions being faced by drivers while on the road. The more risks are eliminated, the better for the driver. Texting is one possible risk that can be eliminated to avoid accidents on the road.
Texting while driving does not only put the lives of the driver and his passengers in danger. It also jeopardizes the lives of those on the road like the pedestrians and the other car drivers. When a driver is texting, he may not notice a pedestrian crossing or the car beside him or the car on the opposite direction. Texting therefore unnecessarily endangers other people’s lives on the road.
It is believed that one’s attention while texting takes at least five seconds off the road. If one is driving at 55 miles per hour, this is equivalent to a driver who is not focused on the road for an entire length of a football field.
Most people are convinced that texting while driving is indeed dangerous. In fact, according to a survey, 94% of drivers support the ban on texting while driving. This just goes to show that even drivers themselves believe that texting while driving poses a great risk on the lives of people. In 2010, drivers expressed that if they were passengers in a vehicle whose driver is texting, they would feel unsafe.
There are a number of young and inexperienced drivers on the road. If texting will be legalized, these inexperienced drivers will have a higher probability of distraction while driving since most teens nowadays are so attached to their cell phones. Most teenagers will stop at whatever they are doing just to text or answer a phone call. This attitude of teenagers and sometimes even adults is simply not compatible to driving.
Anyone in his right mind will agree that texting and driving do not go together. Lives of people are at stake if texting while driving will be legalized. In the same way that drinking and driving is illegal, so should texting be. Given that the very action of texting while driving involves visual, manual and cognitive distractions, it does not make sense to legalize texting while driving.
Works Cited
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Distracted driving." 23 May 2013. cdc.gov. Web. 26 November 2013 <http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/>.
EdgarSnyder.com. "Texting & cell phone use while driving statistics." 2013. edgarsnyder.com. Web. 26 November 2013 <http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html>.
Hanson, David J. "Driving while texting six times more dangerous than driving while drunk." 2013. 2.potsdam.edu. Web. 26 November 2013 <http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/files/Driving-while-Texting-Six-Times-More-Dangerous-than-Driving-while-Drunk.html#.UpSuftI_tvA>.
Wiehl, Lis. "Texting while driving should be illegal." 20 September 2007. foxnews.com. Web. 26 November 2013 <http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/09/20/texting-while-driving-should-be-illegal/>.
