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Distracted While Driving

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A life can be taken so fast from someone taking their eyes off the road. In a story written by the U.S department of transportation we learn about a boy named Eric who was hit by a distractive driver. Eric had went out that morning on a bike ride and while he went on a road not far from his home near Santa Maria, California, Eric was killed when a teen driver traveling at 60 miles per hour struck his bike with her truck. Eric was struck and killed by a distracted teenage driver who neither swerved nor braked. It was later revealed by the driver's cell phone records that she was texting just before the crash. Even though people have been told numerous amount of times what not to do while driving such as texting, driving intoxicated, eating, …show more content…
Research has proven being distracted while driving can lead to accidents. Cell phones are a huge distraction because they draw your attention away from the road. For example if your attention is automatically taken away for 5 second of your time and if you are going 55 mph, you would be traveling a football field without looking.(DWI) Whether it's hands-free or handheld, whether it's texting or talking, it is deadly. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) said distraction-affected crashes killed 3,092 people last year the equivalent of a regional jet crash every week. (Hersman) In comparison we have learned from even using hands-free devices or the speaker to talk on a cell phone while driving is dangerous because the conversation can cause drivers to miss important visual and audio cues that would ordinarily help that person avoid a crash. (Driving Distractions and Staying Safe on the Road)There is also research found that has saying that sending two text messages is equal to having 4 beers. The fact is drinking while driving inhibits one's ability to judge. That means the driver under the influence may blow through red lights and stop signs, fail to adhere to posted speed limits, weave in and out of traffic and lanes, etc. The point is that driving drunk takes away one's ability to rightfully divide between right and wrong. Texting and driving impairs all three areas of distraction visual, manual and cognitive. In term a drunk looking and trying to drive to the driving laws is better than having someone look down not paying any attentions to what is going on, on the road. The accident rate between drunk driving and texting and driving and the rates are complete different than what people thought. This research showed that 3,000 people were in accidents because of drinking and driving and 2,700 people in accidents due to drunk

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