English 110
6 August 2013
The New Drunk Driving
Imagine driving down the highway and looking over only to see the person next to you with their eyes glued to their cellphone, texting away without a care in the world. What thoughts cross your mind? Most likely you fear for your child’s safety, your own safety, and everyone else’s safety driving on the roads that day. According to Centers for Disease Control, distracted drivers kill more than fifteen people every single day, making distracted drivers just as bad as drunk drivers.
Our vehicles have become our “office” on wheels. Many professionals use their vehicles to make phone calls, schedule appointments, and run errands on their lunch breaks, often distracting them from the key task, driving. That cup of coffee in one hand, their phone propped up to their ear, and their mind on the conversation coming from the other end of the phone is distracting them from watching the road, as well as all the other people around them. Driving under the influence of a cell phone, whether it is handheld or a hands-free phone, impairs a drivers reaction time to the same level as being at the legal limit for blood alcohol content.
For teens or the younger drivers on the road, vehicles have become a place for socializing. A place for texting, making phone calls, picking up their friends, and listening to music, usually too loudly. A lot of teens want to try and fit in with their peers and often show off to them by speeding, and ultimately causing the driver to lose focus of the road. According to Distraction.gov, you’re twenty-three times more likely to crash your vehicle if you send a text while you’re driving. . Children, sadly, are taught these bad habits from watching their parents, or other adults engage in them while driving. We are our children’s role models. It is possible however that these younger drivers are dangerous drivers simply because they lack experience driving in different environments, such as driving at night, or driving on the highway.
Many of these dangerously bad driving habits result from our own confidence. Then they become routine and are instilled into our everyday lives. Everyone knows bad habits are usually always hard to break; most drivers learn their driving