War Against Distracted Drivers

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In our own nation, we are constantly fighting a war. It is the war against distracted drivers. At any given daylight moment, some 660,000 drivers in America put lives at risk when they pick up their weapon of choice, cellphones (NHTSA, 2013). The use of cellphones while driving not only puts the driver’s life at risk but also his or her passengers and other people on the road. Precious lives are being lost – it is time to put an end to this war. Most people use cellphones while driving for personal joy. Texting, chatting, and talking on the phone can distract drivers, making it harder to focus. It can affect the ability to stay within the lane, detect hazards and pedestrians, and to detect and respond appropriately to stop signs (Hosking et al., 2009). The driver’s attention is split between the screen and the road. Opening a text message only takes a second but so does colliding with an oncoming car – accidents that could easily be avoided by just putting down your phone (Ahlers, 2011).…show more content…
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration states that drivers who are on their phone are six times more likely to cause an accident than drivers under the influence. This leads to at least 1,600,000 accidents per year and accounts for 25% of all car accidents (National Safety Council, 2012). A majority of these drivers are between the ages of 16-20 years old, and every day we lose the lives of 11 teenagers. (NHTSA, 2013). Eleven teenagers who could have lived to their fullest potential and achieved their dreams. Drivers assume that they can handle texting while driving and remain safe, but the numbers do not lie (TextingThumbBands,
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