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Essay On Distracted Driving

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Traffic accidents happen every day in the United States. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), in 2016 alone, 37,461 people died in automobile related accidents. ¼ of these being a direct result of distracted driving and a good many of them under the age of 21. And as time passes, the numbers seem to scale higher and higher. However, Public Service Announcements can serve to greatly reduce the number of distracted driving incidents as they allow for self-reflection of its viewers, they act as powerful tools of persuasion, and are often reminders of grim ideas we often fail to keep at the forefront of our minds. Many argue against their usage and effectiveness as they are often graphic and come off as condescending. Yet, they fail to realize that a PSAs …show more content…
Since then, thousands of PSAs have been made against the same issue. However, there is doubt in regards to its effectiveness and whether or not these PSAs have made a difference in the statistics of distracted driving. According to researchers at Texas State University, half of the students in their survey agreed with the PSAs and believed they would be beneficial if aired. The other half had somewhat agreed, on the fence about their efficiency. Despite this, it could be argued that the graphic nature of a good many of distracted driving PSAs may actually have the opposite effect. The same researchers discovered that the half not in agreement with the study were distressed in one way or another. However, as distress is a strong human emotion, it is nearly guaranteed that one will not soon forget the lesson that can be taken away from these PSAs. This is because strong emotions are often times associated with certain actions, in the case of distracted driving PSAs, texting while driving will be associated with the negative emotions felt during the

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