Essay: Examining the Dangers and Consequences of Texting While Driving

This essay explores the significant dangers and consequences associated with texting and driving, highlighting its impact on public health and safety. The essay emphasizes that texting while driving is a major form of distracted driving, often resulting in severe accidents and fatalities, surpassing even the risks associated with drunk driving. It discusses the cognitive and physical distractions caused by texting, including the time drivers take their eyes off the road. The essay cites statistics on accident rates, insurance increases, and the disproportionate risk to young drivers. It also examines the role of technology and social media in promoting this behavior, making it a significant cultural change. The essay concludes with recommendations to reduce texting while driving, such as setting good examples and using the phone responsibly. The essay also provides a work cited page with sources that support the information.

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Texting and driving
The rapid growth in technology has undoubtedly made human depend on it. Looking
around in public as well as private place, it is common to find people making extensive use of
technology everywhere, specifically cell phone (Roberts, Pullig and Manolis 14). Texting while
driving is one of the results of not only the development of technology but also widespread use
of technology. In a similar aspect, the essay aims to discuss the dangers of texting and driving
and the consequences of it.
One of the most distracted forms of driving is texting and driving. There is nothing more
dangerous comparatively as the end result of this act can lead to death. There are approximately
(Kareklas and Muehling 224) death occurring due to distracted driving in which texting and
driving scores the most. Many drivers think it is quick action and they are good at it. However,
According to researches, on an average, it takes minimum of five seconds to read a text and more
if the driver is replying to it. The five seconds are more than adequate to cause disastrous
incidents or dreadful accidents.
People who text and drive are six times more likely to get into vehicle accidents. Also, on
being caught into texting and driving the insurance is only to rise at skyrocket speed. Often, the
accidents lead to serious injuries and not death. It is evident that not every family can go through

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a financial crisis. Along with the driver who performs texting while driving, the other people in
the car and pedestrians are equally at the risk of getting into vehicle accidents. Also, the after
situation of the accident it is the family that endures the uninvited trauma. There is no question
of safety or safe using of cell phones while driving. The reaction of a teenager who claims
himself as a pro-user of mobile phones is the same as a 70years old person who has never used
the phone when they are in a road accident. It is hard to understand or expect situations that can
lead to accidents. This is one of the main reason many states have made it illegal to use a cellular
phone while driving as it causes a high rate of death and road accidents.
As mentioned earlier, the driver who text while driving is at six times higher risk of
getting involved in accidents. It is even higher than people who drink and drive. Therefore the
act is severely dangerous. Approximately 11 teenagers die every day due to texting and driving
(Gauld, Lewis and White 67). Although it has been continually said to ignore and avoid, many
drivers specifically the younger one continues to do it behind the wheel taking it as a casual act
(He et al. 289)
Technology plays an essential role in raising this behavior among the population. People
are extremely engrossed in social media in the present days that make them become ignorant of
the real world. For young people, social media has created a virtual world that keeps them
distracted all the time. This is a significant cultural change in the 21st century causing adequate
deaths every day by texting and driving (Hayashi, Russo and Wirth 184).
There are times when it is urgent as well as essential to text back. Drivers should be
aware of the fact that there is nothing more important than safe driving. It is advisable to stop the
car nearby and then inform the person regarding the present situation. According to researches, it

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is the practice of ignorance the urge to reply text instantly is the way out of this issue. It is the
learning of eliminating the curbing those impulses that can help reduce the problem, it may
include either switching off the phone, putting it in silence or keeping its backseat. Also,
according to expert, it is suggested that for teenagers r young drivers parent can set good
examples. Parents can help to develop the right habits in their children by not texting while
driving.

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Work cited:
Gauld, Cassandra S., Ioni Lewis, and Katherine M. White. "Concealed texting while driving:
What are young people’s beliefs about this risky behaviour?." Safety science 65 (2014):
63-69.
Hayashi, Yusuke, Christopher T. Russo, and Oliver Wirth. "Texting while driving as impulsive
choice: A behavioral economic analysis." Accident Analysis & Prevention 83 (2015):
182-189.
He, Jibo, et al. "Texting while driving: Is speech-based text entry less risky than handheld text
entry?." Accident Analysis & Prevention 72 (2014): 287-295.
Kareklas, Ioannis, and Darrel D. Muehling. "Addressing the texting and driving epidemic:
Mortality salience priming effects on attitudes and behavioral intentions." Journal of
Consumer Affairs 48.2 (2014): 223-250.
Roberts, James A., Chris Pullig, and Chris Manolis. "I need my smartphone: A hierarchical
model of personality and cell-phone addiction." Personality and Individual
Differences 79 (2015): 13-19.