Distracted Driving Research Paper Example

Between the years 2015 and 2019, distracted driving caused 158 fatalities and 23,403 injuries in Oregon alone. If we want to take that a step further, there were 1,920 fatal crashes reported having cell phone use as a cause of death between 2015and 2019. The effects of looking at your phone for just 5 seconds, going the speed limit, can range from missing a block to missing an entire football field of vision. So many people, as much as 42% of high school students, have texted while driving, even with the knowledge that distracted driving increases your chance of getting into a wreck by 23%. With this knowledge people still believe it’s okay to text and drive, they think it’s an “oh it won’t happen to me”, “It’s only one text”, “I have to respond, it’s urgent”, but it’s that kind of thinking that has debilitating effects on everyone involved.

Texting while driving debilitates the driver’s attention significantly, but even simple things like using your GPS can have devastating effects. Statistics in Oregon show that 57.65% of people think talking on the phone while driving is less dangerous than texting, because this way your eyes stay on the road, however, that is untrue. While yes, your eyes stay on the road, you are distracted from what’s in front of you and your mind is somewhere else, you are not actively seeing what is in front of you anymore. 12.5% of people have said they don’t multitask well but continue to get distracted while driving by various things, the radio playing their favorite song, the heater needs to be adjusted, the GPS telling you you’re in the wrong lane, or even your friends screaming in your ears. All of this qualifies as distracted driving, even if they seem normal to you. 

What you can do to help yourself, and other people in your life, not get distracted while driving could be to put your phone on silent when you enter the car, whatever someone has to say can wait the 10-minute drive until you are parked. You can turn your phone on “do not disturb” so you aren’t interrupted during your drive by various notifications from social media. You can affix your radio and heater before you get on the road, or have it preset so you don’t have to spend time fiddling with it while driving. The solutions are so simple, yet people still don’t do them and continue to distract and drive. Lead by example. While there is no “ban” on nationwide distracted driving, or texting and driving, there are Oregon laws against it. In Oregon it is illegal to drive with a phone or laptop in your hands and getting caught by police will be a class B violation with a $1000 fine attached to it, and if your driving results in a class A violation, having caused a crash with no casualties, the fine increases to $2000 and the weight of guilt on whatever you have unintentionally caused other people. The only way to have distracted driving less common is to lead by example, let your friends know, let your families know, start making it your own normal to not text and drive, focus solely on the road, it may save your life in the end. 

Works cited

https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/texting-and-driving-statistics/

https://www.oregon.gov/odot/safety/pages/distracted.aspx

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/dangers-texting-while-driving

https://www.teendriversource.org/teen-crash-risks-prevention/distracted-driving/cell-phones