Jennifer Cruz

M. Rosenfeld

English 113A

11/ 13 /17

The Dangers of Distracted Driving

Drivers may be able to multitask behind the wheel and one of them is using

cellphones. Some may have resolved the problem by using hands free devices although thats not

the problem. The problem is that the brain is focused on a conversation or a certain task and

thats called cognitive distraction. On September 12th 2008, a metro link commuter train ran past

a red light due to texting and killed 25 people and injured 135, ( Texting While Driving). In

the article Keep your eyes, hands & mind on the road, by Stephanie Zizzo she sates that since

the mid 2000s distracted driving has become an issue throughout society. A study was conducted

by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that more than 15 people were killed

and more than 1,200 people were injured due to a distracted driver. When a driver is using their

cellphones or are eating they are most likely to be distracted and are not focused which leads

them to danger. Due to many deaths and injuries on the road the local and federal government

decided to decrease the problem. State governments have also been making moves on distraction

driving. Michigan, Illinois, and New York created a law that banned cellphone users to text

behind the wheel. After many laws have been passed, a new study from Temple University

showed that they were effective and are making a difference. This is a serious issue in the U.S

and industries are investing in millions of dollars to make distracting driving safer, effective, and

are helping employees train to keep their eyes on the road, ( Zizzo). If drivers still tend to text

while driving, a number of industries and the government are trying to solve the problem by
enforcing the law. Some drivers tend to obey the law and think that its very effective.

Some people may argue that distracted driving laws arent effective; However, they are

the multitaskers who fail to obey the law. I conducted a survey that the question was do you

think Distracted Driving Laws are effective? 12% of them answered no. This is the case that

young teenage adults fail to obey the law and whenever a cop isnt around they tend to text or

change their music. Even if theres a solution to the problem the government has said that

hands free devices are still effective, which keeps the driver from answering the phone without

their hands. In an article it shows, Motivations aside, there is no consensus that a driver using

a hands-free cell phone is any safer than a driver using a handheld one. (77)Actions that require

a driver to take her eyes off the road, such as dialing and answering a call, are the source of

risk under either a hands-free or manual operation. (78) This is because the majority of hands-

free devices in today's market still require the owner to use her hands to set up and

attach the device, to dial a call, or to answer an incoming call, ( Farris). This is a cause for

many car crashes. Of course theres hands free but theres a slight chance that drivers still tend to

reach out for their phones. One of my college friends has CarPlay in their car and whenever

theres an incoming call she tells me that she can answer it by just pressing the side of her

steering wheel. It may be helpful to her but she still has a slight chance taking her eyes off the

road.

Many drivers are used to multitask behind the wheel but the brain is the one who controls

every movement of the hands called cognitive distraction. The National Safety Council, which

distributes safety education materials, created an article that mentioned, Estimates indicate

drivers using cell phones look at but fail to see up to 50 percent of the information in their

driving environment. This is cognitive distraction where the driver cant process the exact
information and cannot react fast enough to avoid the accident. In this picture it shows an

Image of a young male using his cellphone and keeping an eye

on the road. It also shows two separate bubbles. One stands for

Immaturity were in this case the boy knows that hes not doing

the right thing. The other bubble is distraction which shows that

theres an incoming text and its so immature for the boy to

answer the text. Overall, this is how cognitive distraction works.

The brain is a powerful tool that in any second can create a distraction to many drivers who

tries to avoid multitasking no matter what. But its become a habit to them that they cant get rid

of. Another question that I asked on the survey is when you receive a call while driving do you

Answer it right away, park and answer the call, or dont drive. 40% of my peers answer their

phones right away. This is a drastic percentage because as the quote mentioned above people

who text and drive see 50% of their driving environment. This is what causes drivers to miss

exits and red lights. Drivers are most likely confident in seeing the whole driveway while texting

but in the last minute theyre triggered and cant avoid their mistakes. This shows an explanation

that California distracted while driving laws are effective because the drivers are the ones who

think that its not and are fully Immature to understand the dangers of driving.

The local and federal governments and even industries are putting an effort on distracted

driving and making it a better environment to drive in. Cellphone usage has been one of the

number one traffic deaths in California. Another study thats shown in the National Safety

Council mentions, A University of Utah driving simulator study found drivers using

cellphones had slower reaction times than drivers impaired by alcohol at a .08 blood alcohol

concentration, the legal intoxication limit. This not only show the slow reaction times that the
driver has but it compares the cellphone use and when one is highly damaged by alcohol. It

creates a different perspective that the use of cellphones are the high risks of drivers getting into

more accidents. Over the past few years laws have been passed an article mentions, with its

new law, signed By Gov. Jerry Brown in September and effective Jan 1, California has gone

further than most states in prohibiting the use of cellphones: is barring drivers from even holding

mobile devices, (Bromwich). It helps driver get more focused on the road and avoid any

collisions. But they never mentioned in banning the use of hands free devices or banning other

use of apps. In my experiences of being a passenger Ive seen friends that do live stream on

Instagram and I feel that its very unsafe for them to do that since they have little experience in

driving. Even people who are experienced drivers shouldnt do that they are the ones who are

suppose to make an influence to the new generation of drivers. Since parents or adults arent

putting an influence to many young teens, many organizations have been trying to put an end to

distracted driving. In September 2009 President Obama prohibit Federal employees to ban

texting while driving on government business and In September 2010 the Federal Motor Carrier

Safety Administration (FMCSA) prohibited commercial drivers from texting and in February

2011 the law banned truck drivers and bus drivers using cellphones while driving ( Zizzo).

Many employees who run the industry are also helping their employees to get better at driving.

Not long ago the apple company released the iOS 11. In that feature it helps drivers to not use

their cellphones by activating the do not disturb feature allowing all apps to not be activated.

The feature, when active, will be able to tell if youre in a car when your phone is connected to

the cars USB connection or Bluetooth. It will also be able to use the iPhones sensors to

determine your speed, even if your phone isnt connected to a car, ( Perez). This is a great way

for drivers to get better at driving and loose the habit of driving with cellphones behind the
wheel.
Drivers have the habit of answering calls and text messages behind the wheel and the

Local and Federal government are trying to enforce the laws. That said drivers have complained

that California distracting laws are not effective; however they are the ones who fail to obey the

law. The brain is used to do two tasks all at once which makes the driver want to do the same

while driving and thats called cognitive distraction. The market industries and the government

are trying to make driving a safer environment for other drivers and prevent less car crashes and

injuries. Overall distracted driving laws have been effective for the past few decades and the

government should enforce the law more strict for the sake of the drivers safety. As the phone

company says it can wait.

 MLA

Bromwich, Jonah. Can a Law Stop Distracted Driving? California Hopes To Find Out.
New York Times. 5, Jan. 2017. Mobile.nytimes.com. Web.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/us/cell-phone-while-driving-laws.html.

Farris, Alexis M. LOL? Texting while driving is no laughing matter: Proposing a

coordinated response to curb this dangerous activity. Washington University
Journal of Law & Policy, vol. 36, 2011, p. 233+. Expanded Academic ASAP.
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Perez, Sara. Do Not Disturb While Driving feature rolls out in Apples newest iOS 11
Betta. Oath Tech Network. 22 June, 2017. TechCrunch.com. Web.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/22/do-not-disturb-while-driving-feature-rolls-out-
in-apples-newest-ios-11-beta/.

"Texting While Driving Makes Accident Risk 23 Times More

Likely." Basilandspice.com. 3
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com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=csunorthridge&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA215678
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Understanding the Distracted Brain. Distracteddriving.org, National Safety Council ,

Apr. 2012. Web. www.nsc.org/DistractedDrivingDocuments/Cognitive-
Distraction-White-Paper.pdf.

Zizzo, Stephanie. Don't Get Distracted: Keep Your Eyes, Hands &Amp; Mind on the
Road. ISHN, 5, May 2012. vol. 46, iss. 5. pp. 26,28. Web. https://search-
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nfo%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo.

Zyglis, Adams. Distracted Teen Drivers. Cagle.com. 9, Nov. 2009. The booffaloneus.
Web. https://www.cagle.com/adam-zyglis/2009/11/distracted-teen-drivers