The age old controversy of distracted driving is growing increasingly prevalent in today’s society. With both teens and adults plagued by their ever growing dependency on electronic devices, safe driving has surely taken a tremendous hit.
According to distraction.gov, distracted driving is presently defined as: texting, talking on the phone, talking to passengers, eating/drinking, or even simply adjusting the radio. Distractions stray into three different categories: manual, visual, and cognitive. Taking your eyes off the road for even a mere second can be the difference between life and death. While texting is one of the few distractions that fall into all three of these categories and is certainly one of the most dangerous, the number of texting and driving accidents is exponentially rising. Motor vehicle accidents caused by distracted drivers are on the rise, and something must be done to end this heinous pandemic.
Political Cartoon on distracted driving.
Generations of drivers are affected by the irresponsibility of others at the wheel. Innocent lives are taken every day due to the recklessness of distracted drivers. Distraction.gov reported, “An estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.” This dangerous issue has taken too many lives and something must be done soon to end this atrocious problem.
Throughout school systems worldwide, drivers’ education courses place immense emphasis on the prevention of driving while distracted. Although this may be a good start to preventing the spread of distracted drivers, this is surely not enough to end it completely. Educating the youth is nowhere close to suitable in the fight to end this exponentially growing issue.
Through mere book-work and worksheets, students will never understand the true severity of the matter. To deter drivers from participating in distracted driving, it is crucial to teach through example. Showing students and drivers intense pictures of car crashes due to distracted drivers and simulations may be more powerful than information taught in a textbook.
As drivers become more distracted on the road and technology continues to advance, lethal accidents will become increasingly more prevalent in society. In order to spare the lives of many, a new method must be used to limit the cases of distracted driving.
