Distracted driving is more dangerous
and causes more accidents than driving under the influence of
alcohol. While some may still be stuck on the public service
announcements of yesteryear, touting drinking alcohol and driving as
one of the most dangerous things a motorist can do, statistics are
now showing that the safety to surrounding motorists is much more at
risk due to distracted drivers. According to the website
Straighttalklaw.com, when referring to the percentages of
investigated causes of accidents between drinking and driving and
distracted driving they state, “While you may think drunk driving
is the leading cause of motor vehicle accidents, in reality 80% of
accidents are caused by distracted drivers while only 33% are caused
by drunk drivers.”
Recently many states have enacted laws to reduce these unfortunate numbers, though the reasons for these laws seem to not have trickled down to the people themselves yet. The straighttalklaw.com article also references a study by the National Safety Counsel, in which the counsel states, “28% of accidents are caused by drivers texting behind the wheel yet a large portion of the population considers texting safer and less harmful than driving intoxicated.”
The problem is that texting and driving does not have the have the negative connotation and stigma that drinking and driving does. In this day in age when our cell phones are our lifelines to the “outside” world, it doesn't seem that too many people are willing to give up their cell phones while operating a vehicle just yet. In May 2012, a staggering number was reported by the Orange County Register News in Orange County, California(a state in which using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle in any way other than "hands free" became illegal on Jan 1, 2009) the report stated that according to a California Office of Traffic Safety survey, “10.8 percent of drivers on the road use cell phones at any given daylight time, up from 7.3 percent in 2011.”
The survey also stated that, “Drivers between 16 to 25 years old showed a dramatic rise in cell phone usage, doubling from 9 percent to 18 percent.” This Orange County Register News article also reported that, “Authorities issued more than 57,000 tickets statewide in April[2012] to drivers on hand-held cellphone use and texting violations.” this number was up from April 2011 where 52,000 citations were issued for the same violations.
The reasons that states like California are so tenacious in their fight against the distracted drivers is in the numbers. According to a CNBC.com article, Car and Driver magazine did a test on the effects of distracted driving compared side by side with driving under the influence: “Driving 70 miles per hour on a deserted air strip Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman was slower and slower reacting and braking when emailing and texting.
Recently many states have enacted laws to reduce these unfortunate numbers, though the reasons for these laws seem to not have trickled down to the people themselves yet. The straighttalklaw.com article also references a study by the National Safety Counsel, in which the counsel states, “28% of accidents are caused by drivers texting behind the wheel yet a large portion of the population considers texting safer and less harmful than driving intoxicated.”
The problem is that texting and driving does not have the have the negative connotation and stigma that drinking and driving does. In this day in age when our cell phones are our lifelines to the “outside” world, it doesn't seem that too many people are willing to give up their cell phones while operating a vehicle just yet. In May 2012, a staggering number was reported by the Orange County Register News in Orange County, California(a state in which using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle in any way other than "hands free" became illegal on Jan 1, 2009) the report stated that according to a California Office of Traffic Safety survey, “10.8 percent of drivers on the road use cell phones at any given daylight time, up from 7.3 percent in 2011.”
The survey also stated that, “Drivers between 16 to 25 years old showed a dramatic rise in cell phone usage, doubling from 9 percent to 18 percent.” This Orange County Register News article also reported that, “Authorities issued more than 57,000 tickets statewide in April[2012] to drivers on hand-held cellphone use and texting violations.” this number was up from April 2011 where 52,000 citations were issued for the same violations.
The reasons that states like California are so tenacious in their fight against the distracted drivers is in the numbers. According to a CNBC.com article, Car and Driver magazine did a test on the effects of distracted driving compared side by side with driving under the influence: “Driving 70 miles per hour on a deserted air strip Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman was slower and slower reacting and braking when emailing and texting.
The results:
Unimpaired: .54
seconds to brake
Legally drunk: add 4 feet
Reading e-mail: add 36 feet
Sending a text: add 70 feet”
As these numbers show, distracted driving is much more dangerous than driving intoxicated.
Unfortunately just the sound of receiving a similar type of sentence in a
court of law for being caught texting and driving and being caught
drinking and driving just doesn't sound or feel right to a normal person.
Whether it sounds normal or not something more definitely needs to be done
about the dangers of driving while distracted, until then
hopefully word of mouth to our family, friends, and neighbors about
the dangerous of distracted driving can curb the unneeded deaths of
innocent people and destruction of valuable property that occur annually
throughout the United States due to this growing epidemic.
