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Hannah Matthews
Mrs. Aughenbaugh
English 12
16 May 2014
The Dangers of Texting While Driving
A study in 2009 showed that 5,000 people died in accidents in which they were texting
and driving, or were hit by someone that was texting while behind the wheel(Halsey). Out of
those wrecks, another 440,000 people were left injured, and a countless amount of people left
affected by the aftermath of texting and driving accidents(Halsey). There should be more
consequences for texting while driving in order to prevent many accidents and create a safer
driving environment.
Texting and driving is the fastest growing issues in America. Growing up children are
taught to multitask. Much like watching television while eating, multitasking becomes something
that is done on a regular basis. This trait very often follows us into our teen years and adulthood.
When learning to drive, it would only make sense that once again, multitasking is on our mind.
There is such a natural reaction to the sound of the phone going off that it is almost a reflex to
check the phone to see what is going on. Along with being used to constantly check mobile
devices, the pressure from society to remain in constant contact with social media and personal
messages, is higher than ever. However, people, not just the driver, do not understand the
consequences of texting while driving. Even when people know that their friend is driving they
will continue to text them to see where she is and how long until she get to the destination. These
people do not understand the danger they are putting their friend in. In many cases, if the person
texting whomever is driving, does not get an immediate reply, she will send multiple messages to
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try and get their attention. Everyone needs to take on the personal responsibility to keep
themselves and the other passengers in the car safe and stop texting while driving.
So many people in America have been affected by the tragic accidents involving texting
while driving. Xzavier Bilbo was eleven years old when his life was drastically changed by an
accident. Xzavier was walking to school one day with his mom, when they were about to cross a
street, they looked both ways and then proceeded to cross. As they were half way across the
road, a woman ran a stop sign because she was sending a text message and did not notice the
sign, the woman hit Xzavier and drug him about twenty feet down the road until she stopped.
Now he is paralyzed from the neck down, and has to use a breathing ventilator through a hole in
his neck to breathe for the rest of his life. That little boys life could have been perfectly normal
if she would not have been looking at her phone while behind the wheel.
Another victim of a texting while driving accident is Kassy, age eighteen. Kassy was on
her way to work one Wednesday afternoon when she was sending a message from behind the
wheel. Kassy proceeded to lose control of the SUV she was driving, went into the on-coming
lane and was killed. Lastly, Jennifer Sahoye is a thirty-five year old woman who is now serving
ten years in prison for textign while driving. Jennifer was driving down route one and nine with a
suspended driver license when she crossed lanes and hit a pickup truck that was driven by fifty
eight year old, Carlos Carvalho. Carvalho was ejected from his vehicle and suffered from fatal
injuries. Jennifer would have only been charged with causing death while driving until they
realized she was clearly using her phone; she now is serving the minimum of ten years in prison.
All of these and so many more unfortunate events could have easily been prevented if the drivers
of those vehicles would have just put their phone down while behind the wheel.
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There are three different types of distractions that are possible to have while driving. The
first is when the driver of the vehicle takes one or both hands off of the wheel, known as a
manual distraction. The second is a cognitive distraction; that is where the drivers mind is not
mentally focused on driving. The last one is a visual distraction; which is when the drivers eyes
are not on the road. Sending or receiving a text message while behind the wheel is so dangerous
because it uses every single one of the distractions that a driver can have while driving. It only
takes five seconds for a driver to cover the length of a football field going fifty-five miles per
hour. That is one hundred yards where you are, in essence, driving blind.
The law is not putting hardly any effort into making a safer driving environment for the
rest of us. In many states the only punishment for being caught while texting behind the wheel is
a maximum of a fifty dollar fine. DOT (department of transportation) is currently working with
congress to ban commercial driver licenses to anyone who has been pulled over for texting
behind the wheel. This is not enough though; banning commercial driver licenses will only affect
a very small amount of people when the issue is much larger than just to those who drive
commercial vehicles. There has to be more consequences for this crime or it will continue to be a
wildly growing issue, and the cause of so many deaths and injuries in our country.
The problem of texting while driving is not just with the governments part in texting and
driving, we need to make changes on our own in order to solve the issue. Parents must become a
positive example before their children are going to take them seriously about texting and driving.
Teenagers are not going to listen to their parents or anyone for that matter if they then go and do
the exact opposite of what is being taught. Dads are especially guilty, nearly seventy-five percent
of dads asked admitted to texting and driving while having at least one of their children in the
vehicle with them(Parents Rule). All cell phones should come preprogrammed with the
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SafeTexting R application for phones. This application uses cell phone tower technology to
determine when you are in a vehicle and sends frequent Please do not text and drive messages
whenever the phone is being used to help prevent texting and driving. Another way to get people
to realize that they need to stop texting and driving is an animated emoji story. This is a digital
message that is sent to phones, it demonstrates a car driving down the road while texting and
kills a dog, person, and then wrecks into another car and then both drivers die. This message will
show drivers how dangerous it is to be texting from behind the wheel in a way that they can
relate to.
If laws do not become stricter against texting and driving so many more people, including
family members and friends, are going to lose their lives. As rapper Macklemore says No law is
going to change us, only we can change us, if we cannot get the government to crack down on
this horrible issue, then it is a necessity to take it upon ourselves to create a safer driving
environment for all people. There are an unlimited amount of ways we can prevent texting and
driving, everyone just needs to take the first step to bring texting and driving to an end for good.









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Works Cited
Featured Video: Stairs. Texting and Driving Prevention. Safety Video Direct. 2013
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Jan 2014.
Halsey. Ashley. Laws Against Texting While Driving Are Ineffective. Distracted
Driving. Ed.
Stefan Kiesbye. Detroit: Green haven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. From laws Are Not
Dissuading Drivers From Texting, Report Finds. Washington Post 29 Sept. 2010.
Opposing
viewpoints in context. Web. 14. Jan. 2014
Learn the Facts About Distracted Driving\ End DD. End DD Learn the Facts About
Distracted
Driving comments. The AAA Foundation. 2014. Web.14 Jan. 2014
Texting and Driving Prevention.Safety\ current work\ our work\ Ad council. The Ad
Council.
2012. Web. 16 Jan. 2014
Texting while Driving: Parents Role in Prevention.-Programs. The Advertising
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2012. Web. 17. Jan. 2014