In 2007 five girls, later to be known as the Fairport Five, died in a head on collision with a tractor trailer, and texting is suspected to be the cause of the accident. “Cell phone records show a text message was sent from the phone belonging to the driver, Bailey Goodman, at 10:05:52. A reply was sent to her phone at 10:06:29. Thirty-eight seconds later, someone called 911 to report the accident that killed Bailey and her friends” (“Texting May”) What if she had not been texting? Could these five girls still be alive today? It is impossible to say that the driver was the person sending and receiving texts messages, let alone that if she had not been texting it would have saved the girl’s lives; however, the fact that texting could have …show more content…
Since then cell phones, although useful, have become distractions for many Americans. They have distracted students from performing well on their school work and adults from the duties of their lives; however, cell phones have not distracted people more than when they are behind the wheel. On Automotive Forums it states, “Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road” (Forums). When people text while driving, they focus more on their cell phones than they do on the road, which puts them and drivers around them at a greater risk for accidents. One author writes, “The new study, which entailed outfitting the cabs of long-haul trucks with video cameras over 18 months, found that when the drivers texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting” (“AMERICAN SCIENTIST”). The risk drivers take when they distract themselves while driving is one Americans can live without, for it not only increases the risk of danger but it causes tragedies. There have been many known car crashes involving driver distractions. The Forums also express that “In 2008, 5,870 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction (16% of total fatalities)” (Forums). The saddest part of these accidents is not only the death of victims but the fact that their deaths could have easily been avoided if the drivers had not distracted themselves. Americans need to take into consideration the danger they are not only putting themselves in, but also the danger they are causing and putting others. The percent of fatalities per year could greatly decrease if texting while driving is eliminated from American society. Texting and driving is not the only diversion accessible for drivers; however, it is the number one distraction. The American government must propose a solution to this problem or each year