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Daniella Vallejo
English 1010D.03
Sean M. George
07 November 2015
Distracted Driving: Becoming a Big Issue
Distracted driving is the act of driving while engaged in other activities, such as looking
after children, texting, talking on the phone or to another passenger, watching videos, eating,
reading, or under the influence of a substance, anything that takes the drivers attention away
from the road. Distracted driving has become a huge issue all over the world. Anywhere you go
nowadays, there are many people who are driving that are not giving their full attention to the
road like they should be. Everyone has been guilty of distracted driving at least a couple times in
their lives. In this essay, I will explain what distracted driving is, why distracted driving is bad,
and also the consequences of distracted driving. Distracted driving is definitely not something
that we can look past. It is everywhere and there is no avoiding it.
Distracted driving is something that happens very easily while driving. I strongly believe
that whenever a person gets in their car and begins driving, during that time, at least once while
they are driving, they become distracted. Each day in the Unites States, more than 9 people are
killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes that involve a distracted driver
(Distracted). There are three types of distracted driving: manual, visual, and cognitive. Manual is
anything that takes your hands away from the steering wheel, visual is anything that takes your
eyes off the road, and cognitive is anything that takes your mind away from focusing on the road.

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Most people think that distracted driving is just being on your phone, where it is much more than
that.
Preoccupation with electronic gadgets may degrade human driving performance.
Yet, many drivers sincerely believe that they can perform several tasks at the same
time, such as hold and look at a cell phone in one hand, drive with a beverage
container in the other and exercise their personal skills. Obviously, these drivers
feel they do not need two hands on the steering wheel and two eyes on the road
(Peters 1).
Even if your eyes are focused on the road while eating your food, moving whatever it is that you
are eating, looking down to see what you dropped, or even handling a hot beverage could take
the attention away from the road and cause an accident.
Distracted driving is bad because it not only puts the people around in harms way, but
also the driver as well. Everyone on the road becomes involved when just one person decides to
take their eyes off the road and do something else for just one second. The laws against
distracted driving have recently sparked in the last few years because there have been so many
crashes and injuries that have happened due to distracted driving. Many people have become
angry over the fact that there are now laws that implement punishments for distracted driving,
because they think that they should be able to do whatever they want and whenever they want.
Now thats not the way things should be because if that were the case people would be free to
just do whatever it is that the wanted the country would become and even bigger mad house. In
many states around the country, people may receive a citation from a police officer for distracted
driving. The police officer doesnt even have to have a traffic violation against a driver to pull

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them over. If an officer sees a person who is not fully focusing on the road, he has the right to
pull them over. There are even a couple of states that have laws that ban the use of cell phones
and any other devices while driving. According to an article in the International Journal of
Injury Control and Safety Promotion, Tiffany Overton writes, While the number of motor
vehicle crashes has declined over the years, crashes resulting from distracted driving are
increasing in the United States resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. People seem to
be aware of the dangers that come along with distracted driving, but they continue to engage in
their activities while driving. Another reason as to why distracted driving is bad is because
drivers dont seem to care. They think that multitasking while driving will get things done faster
and easier, where it actually might be getting things done, but that doesnt mean that those tasks
are being done safely. There is such a big risk when drivers take their attention away from the
road. All it takes is just one second and everything could be gone.
Distracted driving is entirely bad and the consequences are even worse. Driving requires
a lot of focus and your full attention. Drivers who are unaware of the consequences of the
distraction may engage in in-vehicle activities simply because they do not realize that their
performance is degraded, or they may be overconfident in their skills and their ability to deal
with distractions while behind the wheel (Horrey 1). Distracted driving can happen to affect all
drivers at some time and the drivers and the people around them will have to suffer the
consequences. The consequences of distracted driving are citations or tickets from police
enforcement, having your drivers license revoked or suspended, injuries, or in the worst cases,
death. There are those incidents that happen where a driver just takes their eyes off the road for
just a second and once they focus back on driving, it is already too late. A horrific accident
occurs and lives are taken. That is such a bug consequence that a driver would have to live with.

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Unfocused driving does not affect all drivers in the same way, but the end result usually isnt too
good in most cases. The severity of the consequences of distracted driving can range from small
vehicle damage, all the way up to a horrific accident, involving totaled vehicles and devastating
injuries or even fatalities. Some drivers take on a lot more risks than other drivers, and they end
up paying less attention, which increases the risk for disaster. Distracted driving also costs a lot
of money. With having to pay for medical bills from injuries, to fixing vehicles due to accidents
that happened. It is not cheap.
In conclusion, distracted driving has taken over people behind the wheel. Drivers are
becoming so caught up in so many different things while driving, that they are making
themselves driving hazards and a risk to everyone else who is driving on the road. Distracted
driving doesnt seem like it will be getting better anytime soon, in fact it may be getting worse as
time goes on. With the advancement of technology and the other distractions that would be in a
vehicle while driving, it is not looking too good for the future. Distracted driving is becoming
just as dangerous as drunk driving. It is almost like when someone is distracted when driving
they become impaired, just as if they were drunk driving. People just dont take it seriously. If
there was a reward for not becoming distracted while driving, such as money, it is almost
guaranteed that people would take it more seriously. Distracted driving is becoming such a big
issue and it needs to end. Nothing is that important, and if it is, just pull over instead of getting in
to a bad situation.

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Works Cited
Distracted Driving. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 13 Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Oct.
2015
Horrey, William J., Mary Lesch, and David F. Melton. "Distracted Driving: Examining The
Effects Of In-Vehicle Tasks." Professional Safety 55.1 (2010): 34-39. Academic
Search

Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.

Overton, Tiffany L., et al. "Distracted Driving: Prevalence, Problems, and Prevention."
International Journal of Injury Control & Safety Promotion 22.3 (2015): 187-192.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Peters, George A., and Barbara J. Peters. The Distracted Driver. Professional Safety 47.3
(2002): 34. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.