Dangers of Texting While Driving

Could you imagine driving the length of a school football field at 60 mph with a bl.ind fold on? If you think about it, whenever you are texting and driving that is exactly what you are doing. Texting behind the wheel can take the driver’s eye off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Do you think that is pretty dangerous? Of course! The leading cause of death among teenage drivers used to be drinking and driving however now it has been replaced with texting and driving. Teenagers are not the only ones to blame though, 49 percent of American adult drivers admitted that they text while driving. This has become a big problem in the United States. Being on our phones has become such a habit for us that we even will risk our lives to check our phones.

Texting while driving if you get caught can be very expensive. In Wisconsin their inattentive driving law does not allow drivers to text behind the wheel. Your first penalty the fine is as high as 400$ and also 4 points on your license. If you get caught the second time it is going to cost you 800$. In Minnesota their texting law does not allow drivers texting behind the wheel either the penalty is 300$. If you do get pulled over and tell the police officer that you were not texting they are able to obtain a subpoena for your cell phone company and check to see if you were texting. Crazy right? Also, fines like this may also make your car insurance premium go up!

So how can you help? A very important way of helping would be to lead by example. Never send or respond to a text message while driving or even when you are at a red light! If you do so, it can not only put you at risk, but others as well and is against the law. If you feel like you can not contain yourself and control yourself maybe you should turn off your phone or put it in your pocket or purse and only use it when the car is in park. Always stay focused on the road as well, keep your eyes on the road. If you are in the car with someone who is texting please say something. Also, it is good to make people in your community aware of the dangers of texting while driving too!

In conclusion, texting while driving is very dangerous and can not only get you or someone else seriously hurt but it can also cost you and another person’s life. It is a no win situation. However, you are able to prevent this from happening on your part. It is simple, hide your phone when you are driving so that way you can not feel tempted to use it behind the wheel. It is also important to only use your phone when you are parked. Never use your phone even if you are at a red light.

References:

Insurance, I. (n.d.). Dangers of texting while driving. Retrieved from https://www.integrityinsurance.com/tips/dangerstexting

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2012). Applied Social Psychology. Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

1 comment

  1. Jong Hoon Park

    Hello,

    I personally enjoyed reading your post because it is very important topic and issue that should be resolved as soon as possible. But also I almost caused several fatal car accident while texting and checking new notifications. I worked as a delivery driver for few months before I was involved in a severe accident while contacting customers. I thought I was able to multitask but I could not since I did not check either side of the road before driving into destination. I did not have enough time to react to avoid oncoming vehicle. Therefore, I wanted to what happens to our brain when we multitask? How does it affect our reaction?

    Multitask is defined as a person dealing with more than one task simultaneously. Everyone believes that we can multitask but when we drive and text; it’s different story. I found an article written by Dr. Pastorino and she discussed about texting and driving. She states that, “our brain is not capable of fully concentrating on two things simultaneously. Our brain has what is called a cognitive load—an amount of mental activity that it can engage in at one time. If you are texting or engaged in a cell phone conversation while driving, that leaves your brain with less cognitive load to focus on driving. Consequently, your driving is not as good as it could be.” Thus multitasking while driving is dangerous and impossible since human can only focus on one deed at a time. But also Dr. Pastorino says “text messaging and conversing on either a handheld or hands-free cell phone while driving slows reaction time more than being drunk or high.” Moreover, we are not only able to multitask but if we multitask while driving then our reaction time is affected. Therefore, I learned texting while driving is more dangerous than someone driving under the influence since human can not multitask while operating a vehicle but also it affects our reaction time negatively causing fatal accident.

    Citation

    Dictionary, C. E. (2012). Multitask. Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/multitask

    Pastorino, E. E. (2012, April 4). The Truth About Texting and Talking While Driving. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-psyched/201204/the-truth-about-texting-and-talking-while-driving

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