University Persuasive Speech: Safe Driving and Technology

This report analyzes a persuasive speech focused on the critical issue of safe driving and the impact of technology, particularly mobile phones. The speech, structured using Monroe's Motivated Sequence, highlights the increasing rate of road accidents caused by distracted driving. It presents compelling evidence, including statistics and real-life examples, to emphasize the need for safer driving practices. The speech argues that technology, while offering conveniences, poses significant risks when used while driving, advocating for the prohibition of tech materials like cell phones. It explores potential solutions, such as software that limits phone usage and advanced driving technologies like lane-departure warning systems. The conclusion calls for concerted efforts from governments, policymakers, and the community to reduce accidents and promote responsible technology use on the road. The report references several academic sources to support its arguments, underscoring the importance of addressing this critical public health issue.

Running head: PERSUASIVE SPEECH
Persuasive Speech
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Topic: When It Comes to Safe Driving, Is Tech the Problem or the Solution?
Narrowed Topic: The use of tech must be prohibited as it causes a hindrance to the safe Driving
General Purpose: To Persuade people not to use tech materials like cell phones
Specific Purpose: To make people know that the use of cell phones while Driving is dangerous
and can lead to accidents. Thus they have to follow the right kind of rules so that it does not
lead to any types of disaster. However, in the modern day scenario indeed surviving within
technology like cell phones (Choudhary and Velaga, 2017). There can often be some
emergencies where the drivers might have to make a call to their family members. However,
they have to stop their cars and then make the call so that there are no cases of accidents on the
road.
The pattern of Organization: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Introduction
I. Attention: The attention is to bring to the road accidents that are caused due to the
distraction that is caused by the lack of attention that is created among the drivers
II. Purpose: The purpose is to analyze if technology is actually helping to save the road
accidents or adding more to it
III. Credibility: I have realized that accidents are caused on road due to many reasons and
one among them is the lack of concentration that is created among the drivers.
However it is true that often the fault is on the part of the passerby. Taking all these
into account, efforts have to make so that the issue of the lack of concentration is
controlled. Thus the efforts have to be taken properly so that the chances of accidents
can be checked.

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IV. Significance to Audience: Audiences here refers to the people of the society. They will be
able to know that using technology is good but at the same time there must be some
check applied over the usage of technology.
Preview: Government is trying to take steps to solve the problems so that there are fewer chances
of accidents. Thus efforts must be made by the Government and the other policy makers to make
sure that there must be proper campaigns to make people aware about the dangers of accidents.
Body
I. Need
The problem discussed is the increase in the rate of accidents on road due to the lack of
proper concentration among people. As per the news covered by The New York Times, it has
been seen that there was a sever road accident on Feb. 29, 2016. The Victim was an young
pregnant lady of 22, Megan Goeltz who was hit by another driver who had lost control over his
breaks. As far as the reports are concerned the driver who hit her car lost track as he was
engrossed in his cell phone.
Attention step
Megan’s father Tom Goeltz was much sad at this incident as he used to work as the
experienced professional safety advocate who teaches classes to prevent distracted Driving. As
per the statistics about 26 % of the car accidents in U.S are taking place due to the cell phones
(www.nytimes.com.2019). However Velmurugan (2017) has argued that though the Government
of some countries are taking measures to solve this problem there is the lack of Universal and
proper appeal among all the people.

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As per my perception technology is making our lives much easier but at the same time
technology must be used in a very controlled manner so that the chances of the road accidents
can actually be controlled to a great rate. ‘’ Despite efforts to educate and raise awareness, a
majority of U.S. adults admitted that they had used their phones while driving in the previous 30
days, according to a 2016 study published by Harvard Medical School researchers’’
(www.nytimes.com. 2019).The estimated range of the people killed is 40,200 as the researches
are concerned. Thus efforts have to be made to check this increasing rate of accidents and teach
people that they must use the technological advancements in a proper manner.
National Safety Council (NSC) has proved the fact that new technological and legal
methods are being undertaken so that the drivers can actually drive with full concentration
without getting diverted in their phone calls. However (Lipovac et al., 2017) has argued that
technology is indispensible in the current scenario and the drivers cannot carry on their day to
day work without carrying their Smart Phones. They will also have to use their phones for the
purpose of finding the navigation or the location of their customers. Thus this idea of banning the
use of cell phones or the hand help phones is often not liked by the riders. In such cases the
Government has to work upon some alternative ways for solving this issue.
Satisfaction
The satisfactory solution that can based in this aspect is the usage of some trackers or
some software’s that will help in limiting the usage of the cell phones by the drivers. La.-based
Cellcontrol is a good example of such software that will help in checking the number of times a
driver will use his cell phone. Apart from this then software will also be collecting the data about
them so that the drives can manage their acceleration, braking and other parts of driving. Thus

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installing this software would mean that the drivers will always stay under the constant threat of
being tracked. Text messaging is considered illegal in about 46 states and the usage of hand help
phones or the cell phones is also banned in about 14 states. However these laws have been
withdrawn in the places like Guam, U.S Virgin Island, Puerto Rico and many other such places.
Visualization
The desired solution can be the usage of auto driving technologies like the lane-departure
warning systems, blind-spot monitors and other such mechanisms that will be very helpful in
reducing the chances of accidents on road. Choudhar and Velaga (2017) has argued that this
technology is still in its stage of infancy and has to be developed properly to find out any true
solution to the actual problem that is existing. Thus efforts have to be made to ensure that these
developments are carried on properly so that they can actually lead to some long term solutions
of the issue of road accidents.
Action
Thus proper efforts have to be taken by Government, policy makers and also the
community as a whole so that the rate of road accidents due to the distraction of the drivers is
stopped. As per the report covered by The New York Times, these technologies must be
enforced so that the rate of the accidents can be checked. The usage of the Automatic vehicles
will be very useful as it will have a dual purpose. On one hand it will help the drivers to check
their phones or carry on then text messaging, knowing that the cars will be controlled. However
these technologies have to be tested for a long time so that people get to know about the benefits
of using the same. This technology has to undergo a process of testing and experimenting several

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times before they are actually installed in the cars and are allowed to be used by people on the
road.

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References
Choudhary, P., & Velaga, N. R. (2017). Mobile phone use during Driving: Effects on speed and
effectiveness of driver compensatory behaviour. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 106,
370-378.
Choudhary, P., & Velaga, N. R. (2017). Modelling driver distraction effects due to mobile phone
use on reaction time. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 77, 351-
365.
Lipovac, K., Đerić, M., Tešić, M., Andrić, Z., & Marić, B. (2017). Mobile phone use while
driving-literary review. Transportation research part F: traffic psychology and
behaviour, 47, 132-142.
Velmurugan, M. S. (2017). Sustainable perspectives on energy consumption, EMRF,
environment, health and accident risks associated with the use of mobile phones.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 67, 192-206.
www.nytimes.com. (2019). www.nytimes.com. Available
from-https://www.nytimes.com/paidpost/esurance/when-it-comes-to-safe-driving-is-tech-
the-problem-or-the-solution.html?tbs_nyt=2017-may-
nytnative_apmod&cpv_dsm_id=5135318