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Dangers of Texting and Driving

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Dangers of Texting and Driving
George Koudelka
COM/155
February 09, 2014
Amy Hankins

Dangers of Texting and Driving The letters LOL, TTYL, or just saying "Hey" have the power to cause an accident within seconds. The National Safety Council estimates that "1.4 million accidents occur every year due to people using their cell phones. 200,000 of those accidents alone are from texting while driving."(How) The popularity of mobile devices has had some unintended and even dangerous consequences. We now know that mobile communications are linked to a significant increase in distracted driving, resulting in injury and loss of life. With this said some people believe that texting and driving needs to be closely monitored because of the risk it involves. While other people think that it is alright to use the phone while driving as long as we keep glancing at the road while replying to the text. Currently there is no national ban on texting or using a wireless phone while driving, but a number of states have passed laws banning texting or wireless phones or requiring hands-free use of wireless phones while driving. This epidemic negatively affects teens and their society and should be strictly avoided. Using cell phone causes many distractions for our eyes, our mind, and our actions. It is easily possible for our eyes to slip off the road. The Tampa Bay Times claims that it "takes seconds to get eyes off the highway and takes self-control"(Cox). Therefore, instead of our eyes locking in on the phone they should be locked on watching our speed, the road, and traffic. At the same time, while driving our mind can only process so much. According to Goldsborough "the human mind is not capable of texting and driving" (Goldsborough). Similarly, Cox confirms "driving is one mind chore" (Cox). In addition, our mind needs to focus on one thing while driving, and that

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