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Sierra Stahly
Mrs. Grimaldi
HELA 10 Block 3
17 February, 2016
Distracted Driving
There are 31 states that have enacted laws restraining the use of cellphones,
whether it is texting or calling while driving. But, the simple banning of cellphones
while driving has proven ineffective. In the state of Kansas, it is illegal for drivers of
all ages to text while driving (Kansas Statute Annotated 8-15, 111). Yet, there are
still many drivers in Kansas that text and drive. One nationwide study showed that
3,092 victims of car accidents caused by distracted driving died in 2010; 13% of
those deaths involved drivers distracted while using their cellphones (Hersman).
Individuals, especially teens, need to be educated to understand the dangers of
texting while driving. Passing another law wont be enough; education is needed.
The age group most likely to be distracted while driving is those younger than
20 years old (MacDonald). To help educate teens, AT&T in Virginia had a convention
that targeted texting and driving. At this convention, teens could experience a
virtual reality of texting while driving without the real-life consequences of a car
crash or a fatality. For each driving simulation, the teen was seated in a real car with
a virtual road, and they tried to drive while they were sending texts and making
calls. They also had to stop for pedestrians and red lights. At the conclusion of each
simulation, students viewed a scorecard showing their performance that further
emphasized the dangers of texting and driving (MacDonald). The take away teens

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received from this educational experience far exceeded that of the simple creation
of a new law. By participating in this virtual reality, students got a firsthand
experience of the dangers of distracted driving that will stick with them forever. If all
teens had this opportunity, there would be a greater chance of stopping dangerous
cellphone use habits before they even started to develop.
A USA Today article entitled Yes, Cellphones Can Be Dangerous. No, a
Nationwide Ban Won't Work mentioned that existing laws have proven ineffective
at stopping individuals from texting while driving. Instead, the article suggests
creating campaigns to make it less socially acceptable to text while driving.
Education can be as simple as one kid telling another kid not to text and drive.
Individuals can be educators while riding in a friends car. Harris Interactives recent
poll showed that 78% of teens said, as a passenger in a car, that when they pointed
out a teen drivers mistake of texting while driving and asked them to stop; 84% of
the teen drivers responded to the comment by listening to his or her peers and they
put down their cellphone (MacDonald). Donald Balsavich, a J.E.B. Stuart High School
drivers education teacher, talked about his encounter with distracted driving. His
uncle was killed in a crash caused by a driver texting on his phone. The guy that did
it only had to serve 9 months in jail and then was set free, but the death of his uncle
will continue to affect Balsavichs family forever. This event persuaded Balsavich to
become a driver education teacher so he could devote his life to teaching others
about safe driving. Also in a search to make roadways safer, researchers at the
University of Alabama conducted a study of roadway fatalities using nationwide
data between 2000 and 2010 (Huffman). They found that texting bans only reduced
traffic fatalities among all age groups by 3%. Although, that decrease was good, it is

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not enough. More should be done to prevent deaths from distracted driving so that
it does not become the new drunk driving of present day.
There are 31 states that have some type of ban on texting while driving.
Instead of creating more laws that prohibit activities such as cellphone use while
driving, the emphasis should be on educating individuals about the dangers of
texting or calling on a cellphone while driving. A study done by the Virginia Tech
Transportation Institute in 2012, found that teen drivers have four times greater
chance than adults of getting in a car accident when using their cellphone
(Hersman). The study also stated that, For every six seconds of drive time, a
driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their
eyes off the road showing that not only is cellphone use while driving dangerous,
but that texting while driving is even more dangerous (Hersman). Some states have
even increased the penalty for those involved in a fatal crash caused by texting
while driving. However, there doesnt appear to have been a dramatic reduction in
the number of fatal crashes caused by cellphone use while driving. Although there
have not been many studies done yet to show if these tougher laws are effective,
the continued rise in such deaths suggests that the tougher laws are not working.
For example, Maryland created a law that banned texting while driving. In 2014, the
state legislature passed Jakes Law, increasing the penalties for drivers involved in
fatal crashes caused by texting (Cox). Individuals who break this law face a $5,000
fine and up to a year in jail (Cox). Almost 40 cities in Texas have banned texting
while driving (Benning). The Dallas Morning News analyzed Texas Department of
Transportation data for 12 Texas cities that had laws banning the use of cellphones
while driving and found there was no consistent reduction of accidents caused by
cellphone use after the cities enacted the bans. Some cities saw the crash rate for

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cellphone-involved wrecks decline after the tougher laws were implemented, but
they couldnt tell if the new laws actually reduced cellphone use or if drivers lied
and said they werent using a cellphone when they crashed so they wouldnt get
fined or sent to jail.
More than three-fifths of all states in the U.S. have laws restricting texting on
a cellphone while driving, yet there are still too many accidents and fatalities
caused by texting while driving (Yes, Cellphones Can Be Dangerous). It is clear
that laws alone are not enough to significantly reduce the number of accidents and
deaths caused by texting while driving. Instead, education is the key to successfully
reducing the number of accidents and fatalities caused by texting while driving.
Instead of creating more laws that prohibit activities such as cellphone use while
driving; the emphasis should be on educating individuals, especially teens, about
the dangers of texting or calling on a cellphone while driving. The AT&T virtual
reality experience in the State of Virginia of texting while driving and showing the
teen drivers the accidents that can occur appears to be an effective tool for
educating teen drivers about the dangers of texting while driving. It would be great
if other states, like Kansas, could start a similar education program so that Kansas
can make the roads safer for everyone living here.

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Works Cited
Benning, Tom, Does Banning Cellphone Use While Driving Reduce Accidents?
Dallas Morning News, 22 Jul 2015; A.10. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 28 Feb.
2016.
Cox, Erin O'Malley Signs 'Jake's Law' marijuana decriminalization Baltimore Sun,
14 April 2014; Web. 28 Feb. 2016
Hersman, Deborah A. P. "Distraction Kills." USA TODAY. 16 Dec. 2011: A.10. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
Huffman, Mark, Do texting-while-driving bans work? Consumer Affairs. 7 Jul. 2014:
A.10. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
MacDonald, Gregg At J.E.B. Stuart High, simulator shows teens dangers of texting
while driving Washington Post, 27 March 2013; Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
Stim, Rich; Kansas Text Messaging and Cell Phone Laws State Driving Laws,
www.driving laws.org
"Yes, Cellphones Can Be Dangerous. No, a Nationwide Ban Won't Work." USA TODAY.
16 Dec. 2011: A.10. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
"2014 Kansas Statutes :: Chapter 8 AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER VEHICLES :: Article
15 UNIFORM ACT REGULATING TRAFFIC; RULES OF THE ROAD :: 8-15,111 Text
Messaging, Prohibited; Exceptions." Justia Law. Web. 28 Feb. 2016