30 Slides and presenter notes PowerPoint

Running head: TEXTING WHILE DRIVING 1

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING 8

Texting While Driving

Student’s Name

University Affiliation

Introduction

In the recent times driver distractions on the road have been on the rise, with about 1.3 million deaths being reported annually (WHO, 2016). This is mostly attributed to technological advancements which the globe has wholeheartedly embraced (Nemme and White, 2010). Performing secondary tasks is arguably the riskiest distractions. Nemme and White argue that while multimedia devices, radios and global positioning systems can be found in almost all cars, the mobile phones have been reported to have the most adverse technological distractions. Not only novice drivers are subject to the distractions, many drivers with the experience on the wheel have experienced this, with news of tragic impacts hitting our television screens and radios each day.

According to Klauer et al. (2014), 10 percent of all deaths related to road traffic are caused by young drivers aged between 15 to 20 years. Various scholars and research organizations have done studies regarding the effects of texting while driving. While the government is based on the illusion that there are sufficient policies to curb the problem, studies have shown that the efficiency of these policies is not guaranteed. I feel that indeed there is a great need for raising public awareness on the impact of texting while driving in order to curb related accidents.

The Problem

Texting while driving is a societal problem that most of us are conversant with since it negatively affects us, either directly or indirectly. The effects of texting while driving have long been established (NETS, 47; WHO, 2016). According to NETS and WHO, numerous people in the United States have lost their lives as a result of the problem. WHO (2016) have reported that there are at least 1.3 million deaths occurring every year. This means that texting while driving is serious enough a problem to warrant immediate remedial actions.

Texting While Driving: Whose Responsibility is It?

There are divided opinions on whose responsibility it is to stop the problem of texting while driving. There have been claims that the government policies have not been effective in reducing the accidents related to texting while driving. While I posit that the responsibility is almost entirely with the drivers, opposing views hold that it is the government’s responsibility. Studies examining the effectiveness of the existing government policies in curbing the problem. For instance, Trivedi & Rawal (2011) in their study, had previously hypothesized that the role of the government is to formulate and implement the legislations that will regulate texting while driving and that implementation and compliance to those regulations will greatly reduce the number of accidents caused as a result of texting while driving. As such, they attribute the causes of accidents to the fact that government legislation has not been effective enough to curb the problem.

In a similar fashion, Jones (2016) had hypothesized that the government takes the center responsibility of curbing road accidents through implementing the required legislation. In his study, Jones made comparison the accidents that occurred before the law was instituted, and after the law was instituted. In his findings, Jones found out that there had been no decline in the number of accidents event in the presence of the law to ban texting while driving (p. 87).

The responsibility of stopping the problem of texting while driving is mostly ours. The increased cases of road accidents and deaths related to this act are on the rise, evidenced by statistics in studies that have been conducted recently. Studies have recently shown that 60-70 percent of drivers in high income countries such as the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and Britain have reported intentionally using mobile phones while driving (WHO, 2016). This is not a number that can only be read in various research report, but can even be deduced from our daily observations on the road, either as pedestrians or even passengers.

Texting While Driving and Government Legislation

There is a connection between texting while driving and the current legislative regulations. While it can be quickly hypothesized that existence of the government rules is expected to curb the problem, observers have noted otherwise. Researches have shown that despite the government’s legislations, many drivers still text and drive. For instance, Trivedi and Rawal (2011) point out that the relevant regulative framework, including the policies have not been effective in ensuring compliance with the policies that denounce the use of cell phones while driving. This therefore shows that government policies alone cannot be enough in reducing the wide spread problem I have on numerous occasions observed many drivers using mobile phones while driving, and young inexperienced drivers are the most notorious ones. Studies have shown that young drivers aged below 25 years have been overrepresented in the number of crashes that take place as a result of using mobile phones on the road with up to 30% of these drivers being killed every year (WHO, 2016).

In some cases, drivers have admittedly agreed that they are aware of the impacts of texting while driving. Further, they are aware that texting while driving is against the law, yet they still text and drive (Atchley, Atwood & Boulton, 2011).Their study involved a surveying 401 U.S students in their undergraduate programs. Shockingly, 90 percent of the students reported that they text while driving, with about 65% admitting that they sometimes do so with both hands as such, they have no hands on the steering wheel. This, of course increases the chances of causing an accident. While the government can install all the relevant rules to govern the driving behavior on the reads, it is not possible to always supervise the drivers especially when they are alone. This then takes us to the question of whose responsibility it is to reduce and probably stop texting while driving.

The fact that laws that discriminate texting while driving exist has not stopped the drives from texting while driving. In another research, Quisenberry (2015) sought to find out just what proportion of drivers who text while driving understand the existence of the laws that disallow texting while on the wheel. According to his findings, 96 percent of the drivers who text while driving understand that it is against the law to do so. This makes the problem worse, as the driver, knowing that is illegal, will tend avoid texting when they are around or near the authorities. This ultimately makes it difficult for the government to crack down on the offenders.

While it can be easy to point fingers at the youth for using mobile phones while driving, I have heard people make an assumption that adults are responsible enough to avoid using mobile phones while driving, whether texting or calling. To oppose this assumption, studies have been conducted to reveal just how many adult drivers use mobile phones while on the road. For instance, in the United States of America, 27% of adults have reported sending or reading text messages while driving (Nemme & White, 2010). This is an indication that drivers are responsible for their actions, regardless of their age. In trying to examine what factors should be considered, Feldman et al. (2011) argue that evaluating the attention and the emotions of drivers are the key factors that should be considered in order to significantly reduce accidents related to texting while driving.

Curbing Texting While Driving

Considering the fact that texting while driving is a problem that still persists even in the presence of legislative rules and regulations, there have to be other ways to supplement the laws. Mobile service providers and technology companies can team up to inhibit texting while driving. For instance, AT&T provider has the Smart Limit option in which a user can turn off texting and emailing at the times they know they are driving (Farris, 2011). Additionally, applications such as PhoneGuard’s Drive Safe software which inhibits texting while driving beyond 10 miles per hour has proved efficient (Farris, 2011). In order to handle the challenge of texting while driving, these applications can be fixed on every phone. Additionally, public campaigns can be helpful if increasingly done so as to raise awareness on the effects of the offence. Passengers can as well report the drivers who they see offending the laws on texting while on the wheel. A combination of these methods can greatly reduce the number of drivers who text while driving.

Conclusion

Texting while driving is not just the responsibility of the government. The drivers as well as any other road users, from passengers to pedestrians, all of us are faced with the threat of getting involved in an accident related to the problem. It is agreeable that the government has a great role, but it can monitor everybody wherever they are. In as much as it is supposed to ensure reinforcement of the already existing laws and regulations, the primary responsibility to ensure road safety is for drivers to really understand that they are at the center of focus when it comes to handling the problem of texting while driving. Additionally the rest of other road users can equally raise awareness in order to let our friends, our families as well as the public in general the effects of texting while driving are indeed adverse and can only be reduced if we all take action. We should all join forces in combating the problem and supplement the role that the government in curbing the problem.

References

Atchley, P., Atwood, S., & Boulton, A. (2011). The choice to text and drive in younger drivers: Behavior may shape attitude. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(1), 134-142.

Farris, A. M. (2011). LOL-Texting While Driving is No Laughing Matter: Proposing a Coordinated Response to Curb this Dangerous Activity. Wash. UJL & Pol'y, 36, 233.

Feldman, G., Greeson, J., Renna, M., & Robbins-Monteith, K. (2011). Mindfulness predicts less texting while driving among young adults: Examining attention-and emotion-regulation motives as potential mediators. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(7), 856-861.

Harrison, M. A. (2011). College students’ prevalence and perceptions of text messaging while driving. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(4), 1516-1520.

Jones, Joe. (2016). Texting While Driving Legislation Proving Useless. Transportation Safety, edited by Frank Harvey, 2nd ed., vol. 3, Singleton, 80-89.

Klauer, S. G., Guo, F., Simons-Morton, B. G., Ouimet, M. C., Lee, S. E., & Dingus, T. A. (2014). Distracted driving and risk of road crashes among novice and experienced drivers. New England journal of medicine, 370(1), 54-59.

Nemme, H. E., & White, K. M. (2010). Texting while driving: Psychosocial influences on young people's texting intentions and behaviour. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42(4), 1257- 1265.

NETS. (2001). Pay Attention--Buckle Up: Safe Driving is a Full-Time Job." Public Roads 65.1. ProQuest.

Quisenberry, P. N. (2015). Texting and Driving: Can it be Explained by the General Theory of Crime? American Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(2), 303-316.

Trivedi, A., & Rawal, D. (2011). Prevalence of road traffic accidents and driving practices among young drivers. Healthline, Journal of Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine, 2(2), 72-75.

World Health Organization. (2011). Mobile phone use: a growing problem of driver distraction.