...it used to be. You are now able to take your cell phone any and everywhere. Which is a convenient for us all, but talking on your phone while driving, can cause more problems than you may think. We have all been driving down the street, highway or wherever and encounter that driver that is just driving slowly. We say to ourselves, “What are they doing?” When you go to pass them, you see their talking on their cell phones. It happens all the time, but people fail to realize that talking on your cell phone is a distraction. When driving, you need all of your attention to be on road and other drivers. When you’re on your cell phone you can miss your turn, the exit your suppose to get off on or even fail to see the car in front of you put on brakes. Driving and talking on your cell phone is a dangerous combination. For example, I remember me and my friend were taking a trip out of town. We both had our children with us, and driving down Highway 95. When all of a sudden I hear the roar of a motor and out of nowhere comes flying this yellow mustang. It sideswiped us, sending us crashing into the side rail. As I’m looking out the window, I see the mustang flip over three times, right in front of us. We all were scared to death! Then crawling out of the mustang, comes a young girl, upset about her car. We were all fine and the other driver as well, but when the police told us that the young girl stated she was talking on her cell phone at the time of the accident, I was shocked! ...
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...Cell- Phone-Induced Driver Distraction Inattentional blindness is being blind to stimuli you were not expected to see, or failing to recognize an unexpected stimulus in plain sight. Certain criteria must be followed in order to be classified as an event of inattenional blindness. These criteria are; the observer must fail to notice a visual object or event, the object or event must be fully visible, observers must be able to readily identify the object if they consciously perceive it, and the event must be unexpected. Talking on a cell phone is a great example of how inattentional blindness can be produced. For example, if I were engaging in a conversation on my cell phone while driving my car, I wouldn’t be fully paying attention to the road. My conversation would be distracting me from having a clear mind on the road and therefor I would be blind to certain (or many) stimuli I pass by or come across. For example, while driving and talking on my phone, I may pass a bicyclist and not even be aware of him or her, because the distraction of my phone conversation has made me create an inattentional blindness to the event. David L. Strayer and Frank A. Drew’s conducted a research study of how the effects of driving a car while talking on a cell phone can induce driving distractions and cause inattention blindness to the event. The researchers stated in their article on page 128 “The objective of this article is to muster evidence in support of the hypothesis that cell- phone conversations...
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...Why is the use of cell phones while driving dangerous? Studies show that 1.6 million crashes are caused by distracted driving per year. Cell phones should never be used while driving for the following reasons you could get in an accident, you could be injured, or you could possibly die. Drivers ages 15-44 years old die because of accidents. If you were to text while behind the wheel you could get in an accident. In 2011, 1.3 million accidents were caused by texting behind the wheel. Cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes per year. 1 out of 4 accidents in the U.S is caused by texting while driving. 21% of teens are involved in accidents due to distracted driving. In 2013, 16 percent of all police-reported crashes were caused...
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...To Ban or not To Ban the Use of Cell Phones while Driving? Many places nationwide are now seeing the dangers of the use of cell phones while driving is on the rise. Not only is it a danger to the person using the cell phone, but anyone around the user. It only takes a fraction of a second to lose control of a vehicle; and who knows what can happen in that fraction of a second. Will a life be lost? Will two or more lives be lost? We know what can happen to an extent, but let’s not find out what the full extent is. We need everyone, including the Government, around the nation to really see the pure danger and horrible outcomes of cell phone usage behind the wheel. The first reason why we need to ban cell phone usage behind the wheel is because it is a huge distraction to the driver. The driver is not fully focused, alert, or at their full awareness when they are using their cell phone. Secondly, this so called distraction can or will lead to some sort of accident. Whether that accident is fatal or leaving the other person in critical condition. Thirdly, that last reason we should really ban this act is because the drivers are purely reckless. These drivers can be compared to drivers that are under the influence due to their lack of judgment and their ability to focus on the road. I’m sure that people are quality of looking at a text or answering their phone while driving, but my intention is to try to get everyone aware of the dangers of this action, and to hopefully get people...
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...Cell Phone Use While Driving The new technology of cell phones has helped advance the world in which we live. There are over 100 million people in the United States that have and use cell phones. Driver distraction due to cell phone usage is a plague that is causing more and more car accidents every year. People quickly forget that driving is a privilege and not a right. What are different states doing about it? Should it be a concern of ours? Did you know that car crashes are the leading cause of death in the U.S.? The statistics of car accidents due to cell phone usage is a hot topic for lawmakers, cell phone manufacturers, and concerned citizens. A study by the National Safety Council found that 8 out of 10 people use their cell phones while driving and that 1 out of 5 text while driving. Cell phones are a factor in six percent of all car crashes which equates to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths. These are shocking statistics that easily can be prevented by refusing to use your phone while driving. Research done by the Iowa Civic Analysis Network said, “National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that distracted driving contributes to 25% of all police-reported traffic accidents. The most common distraction is cell phone use, which increases the likelihood of an accident by approximately 300%.” One of our problems as Americans is that we like to multi-task. On average Americans spend twenty five minutes...
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...Handheld Cell Phones While Driving CL English 111.4 November 9, 2009 Abstract Cell phones should be banned to make for a safer country. When considering whether or not cell phones should be allowed to be used while driving, generates two different positions. The use of a cell phone while a car is in motion should be made illegal throughout the United States with exceptions of emergencies. Cell phones are a distraction and our brain is better at concentrating on one thing at a time, while using a cell phone you have a slower reaction time and it will reduce the amount of vehicle accidents. Some argue that cell phones cause just as much distraction as many other things such as the radio and that cell phones are needed for emergencies. Others argue that a law banning the use will help decrease vehicle accidents and increase peoples concentration on driving. Outlaw the use of Handheld Cell Phones While Driving “500,000 passenger vehicle drivers are talking on hand-held cell phones, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration” (O’Rourke, 2004). When considering whether or not cell phones should be allowed while driving, causes deep feelings to be expressed on both sides of the issue. Some argue that cell phones cause just as much distraction as many other things, such as the radio. Others argue that such a law will help decrease vehicle accidents and increase the driver’s concentration on driving. Our first concern should be the safety of our people driving on...
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...Cell Phone Use While Driving In today’s technologically advanced world it is hard to find anyone without a cell phone in their purse or pocket. Cell phones are being used more frequently during normal activities, such as at the dinner table, in the movie theater, and in the car. The use of a cell phone in a moving vehicle raises the risk of collision 3 to 6.5 times greater than that of an undistracted driver (Seo &Torabi, 2004). The increase of 16-24 year olds using cell phones combined with their lack of driving experience creates a deadly cocktail of inevitable consequences. These consequences are closely related to those of a person driving well above the legal blood-alcohol-limit (Seo &Torabi, 2004). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seems to feel that cell phone use isn’t that dangerous. The NHTSA states “only 18 percent of the 5,474 people killed and 5 percent of the 448,000 injured in crashes were because of cell phone use” (www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811379.pdf). Eight-teen percent, that’s 985 people dead each year, if the number of drivers using cell phones stays the same. That’s 985 times The United States takes a step backwards to getting closer to finding a cure for cancer, because each one of those 985 people has the potential to do just that. Oh, don’t forget the five percent of the 448,000 or 22,400 people that were only injured. Injured, what exactly does that entail? Injuries sustained from motor vehicle accidents...
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...Proposal- Thesis, Major Points, and Plan Kiser Young Professor Paul Hackman ENG 215: Research & Writing April 26, 2015 Cell phone usage while driving should be a concern to all motorist and policymakers. Is that Facebook update, or retweet on Twitter, even that selfie for Instagram worth your life or the lives of others in the car or on the road? It’s often said that individuals take many things for granted but your safety should not be one of them. This “distracted diving” is becoming the new DUI. Needless lives are lost on our highways, and while doing our best to stay so connected to people in our lives that potential fatal accident could in fact sever those connections. Of all the topics that I could’ve chosen, the subject on whether cell phone regulations should be changed or not made me think about how often we as humans take this thing called “life” as a joke in so many words. I’m not excluded from this because I didn’t think a device the size of wallet, as thin as pencil could cause so many issues. Another reason why I chose this topic is because its shows that we need to start taking responsibility for our own actions. Before doing more research I didn’t know how many countless were lost. It’s estimated that every year at least 3,000 lives are lost because safety has become nothing more than a word. We know that drinking and driving is dangerous yet we drink. We know wearing seat beats can save lives, yet we refuse to wear them. We need to start taking our safety...
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...Professor Tanguay February 25, 2013 Using Cell Phones While Driving is a Huge Problem Almost everyone has a cell phone, and that causes a problem for public safety when drivers use their phones up behind the wheel. Using cell phone while driving should be made illegal. Driving is a privilege not a right, therefore to ensure the safety of everyone and allow drivers to reach their destination safely, there has to be reinforced regulations. Cell phone usage should be a concern and drivers should refrain from using them while operating a vehicle because it can cause problems such as distraction, slower reflex, and endangerment. Cell phone is a distraction because that could present a serious and potentially deadly danger. Using the phone while driving can cause a cognitive problem, meaning driving and talking on the phone with someone prevents one from focusing one hundred percent on the road. “Studies show that driver pay attention to phone conversation is distracted because the paying more attention to the conversation and less to driving.” (Declare Ropeik) Take the case of Kelson Vaillancourt who “in May 2009 lost her 21-year-old brother to distracted driving. Kelson Vaillancourt was riding in the car with a co-worker to a job site when the driver failed to yield at a stop sign, drove into traffic and was hit by a tractor trailer. The driver died instantly and Kelson died hours later”. According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety drivers who use hand held...
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...Banning Cell Phone Usage While Driving By A.D. Johnson SP 180 Principles of Public Speaking Banning Cell Phone Usage While Driving Cell phones have become almost an extra appendage. They have become such a large part of who we are until most people feel lost without them. Consider the number of people we see in the course of the day walking with their heads down, eyes focused on the phone or seem to be talking to themselves or texting or reading a text sent to them. It has become common place to hold a conversation while being fully engaged with the phone. Cell phones have become such an addiction until we use them even where they are prohibited. That call must be answered, that text read or responded to. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in a moving vehicle. Cell phones, while convenient, impair the driver’s ability to focus fully on what is going on around them. Use of cell phones while driving should be banned because it poses a danger, not just to the driver, but to everyone around them. Picture seeing a person driving while putting on makeup or reading a paper or vigorously dancing or even having a lively conversation with passengers. Most people would react negatively and agree that this is reckless behavior. Yet, this same group sees nothing wrong with talking on the phone or texting while driving. After all, it only takes a quick second to glance at a text—kind of like blinking and these days a lot of cars dial the phone for you, so it’s cool...
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...TITLE: Banning on cell phone usage while driving In this day and age technology is advancing every single day. Now in these times you look around as you walk down the streets everyone has a cell phone. With the amount of things you do with these devices they can become very distracting. From answering calls, texting, playing games, getting directions, etc... these devices some what become part of your life and you couldn't live without one like water can't live without it. With the increase in interest in these devices there does come a negative and that negative is they can be dangerous and use of them needs to be limited during certain activities. Use of a smartphone or cellphone while driving should be banned nationwide. Why you may ask it, well let me tell you it causes your reaction time to decrease, also cell phone use is a want not a need and finally it causes distractions to the driver. Can talking on a phone decrease your reaction time? Well folks it true your reaction time does decrease. How you may ask? Well a study done by the DMV shows that drivers who are focus on driving compared to those on a phone is about 3 times faster because by the time you let go of the phone to turn the wheel it too late. If both hands is on the wheel you could turn the wheel without that 3-5 second delay of letting go of the phone to grab the phone depending on the person it may take longer. The slower you are to react the more chance of a bad ending. This is just like if someone...
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...Prohibiting the Use of a Cell Phone While Operating a Motor Vehicle Gerald J. Calca Jr. Post University Prohibiting the Use of a Cell Phone While Operating a Motor Vehicle Statistics show that from 2003 to 2008 the number of accidents that were caused by drivers using a cell phone increased from 636,000 to an astounding 1.6 million. (CBSNews, 2010). This a growing trend that shows the use of cells phones while driving is an extremely dangerous activity which has had severe consequences for many individuals, and therefore should be prohibited to help ensure the safety on our roads. There are too many things that can go wrong when driving a car without any distractions. Taking your attention away from the road for any reason is not only a detriment to yourself but to others as well. While most people realize that driving a vehicle is a privilege and responsibility that should be taken very seriously, there are some people that believe that the convenience factor outweighs the risks. According to K. Lissy, J. Cohen, M. Park, and J. Graham in their report Cellular Phone Use While Driving: Risks and Benefits (2000), some of the benefits that people find in using cell phones when driving are both personal and communal. Being able to use a cell phone while driving helps people reduce unnecessary trips, shorten the duration of their trips, and overall minimizes the amount of time spent on the road (Lissy, Cohen, Park, & Graham, Jul 2000, p. 41). An example of this would...
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...Society is becoming more connected to cell phones than ever. It’s true that cell phones make life easier. We are able to check our emails with it, receive phone calls, send text messages, hear music and take photos. However, cell phones and driving have become a massive issue that has redoubled these past years. This issue has been around since cell phones first came out. Everybody has their own point of view; however I believe that using cell phones while driving should not be allowed. My reasons for believing in this are that drivers are focusing too much on the screens of their cell phones instead of the road and phone usage can increase the time it takes for a driver to react. The main reason for most accidents in today’s society is cell phone usage while driving. Cell phones cause distractions in many ways. For that reason, anytime a driver takes away their hand off the wheel the higher is the risk to cause an accident and sometimes a fatal one. In the end, of my research about this issue I found this website where people share there “texting & driving” stories. I read some of them and they are all very touching and some even fatal endings. It makes you think how fragile life is. One minute we are here the other minute we look at a cell phone and we are gone. Distracted driving is a dangerous behavior not just for the drivers, but also the passengers and the no occupants. According to, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics showed that in...
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.... Thesis: Cell phones should be banned while driving Paragraph 2: Using cell phone would make drivers have less control of the vehicles, however some people are able to multitask without causing any danger. Topic sentence and details: • Some people can multitask and they are capable of handling phone while driving. • Using cell phones makes the driver drive slower on the road, especially during rush hours. • Not all conversations are about negative news • People have to divide their attention between the car and the conversation. • People can peek up speed easily and not notice the traffic around them. • Bad news thru phone might cause loss of control Paragraph 3: Drivers using cell phones while driving have a less ability of concentrate on the road the danger surrounding the vehicle. Driving and using a cell phone are two different activities, therefore they cannot mix with the ability of the driver to concentrate. Topic sentence and details: • Short calls cannot cause any distraction. • Urgent calls need to be answered. • Collisions occurred while cars where coasted on the side • Drivers need to watch out for pedestrians since there are the number danger on the road • Drivers need to coast on the side of the road if answering a call and make sure that the place where they are its safe for the traffic. Paragraph 4: Banning the use of cell phones would decrease collisions Although the law banned drinking and driving, there are still collisions caused from...
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...can make driving conditions more dangerous for everyone on the road. By knowing that driving while talking on a cell phone decreases driving performance, drivers hopefully will avoid using their cell phones until they have reached their destination. The end result of this will end up making the roads safer for everyone. Also, government officials can make laws that uphold drivers to certain standards, to keep the roads safe. For instance, there is already a law that prohibits drivers that are under 18 from talking on their cell-phone, however, it is legal for the majority of drivers to talk on their cell phones. Statistics and findings from these studies, can in turn persuade government officials into changing the laws to improve safety. These results also relate to what I’ve learned from my understanding of psychology. While talking on a cell-phone, a driver may experience a decrease in their cognitive ability to drive because they are distracted. In class, we learned about two parts of selective attention. The first part is Inattentional...
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