Research Essay Example on Distracted Driving

The state does not do enough to prevent distracted driving. Distracted driving is a severe thing that causes a lot of accidents, most of them resulting in tragic deaths. Many people may say "This won't happen to me" or "I pay attention enough" but it can and will still happen. Many also say that the state is not in control of the driver and that it is the driver's choice. While that may be true, the state can issue more serious consequences in order to make the driver think twice about texting while driving or even choosing to look away from the road for a brief second while driving. Although it is a common occurrence, which it should not be, people tend to overlook how serious being distracted while driving is. The state should take a much more serious look into distracted driving and work harder to prevent it. Of course, solutions may be expensive, but saving a life is much more important than saving money. 

Many people claim to know the consequences of distracted driving but do they take it as serious as it should be? Distracted driving includes the use of giving your attention to another object while driving, whether it seems dangerous or not. For example, eating or drinking while driving is considered distracted driving. The article "10 Distracted Driving Facts And Statistics- 2022 Update" it brings out "Eating or drinking while driving is also one of the leading causes of distracted driving accidents along with texting and driving, increasing the chance of getting into an accident by up to 80%. Food or drinks can cause a spill that demands your immediate attention, resulting in only one hand on the wheel, and dealing with wrappers, empty cups, and napkins." This quote explains that while texting and driving are considered more dangerous, eating or drinking while texting is as well. A spill or accident from the food or drink can cause your attention to divert from the road to the situation in your car, causing you to have one hand on the wheel, which leads up to several dangers and can cause an accident. The consequences of distracted driving are well known but are not taken carefully. 

The result of distracted driving for one family cost the parents their son. In the article, "One family's story: the price of distracted driving" the family shares "Our son Brian graduated from college in May 2009 with a degree in economics. He moved back to Nashville and started looking for a job, which he fortunately found. He was living at home with us while he saved money to move into his own place. On Oct. 28, 2009, he left for work at about 7 a.m., as usual. At 3 p.m., two state troopers came to our door and told us that Brian had been killed in an automobile crash that morning. They said that he had been driving east on Interstate 40 just outside of Nashville, when a young woman driving west lost control of her vehicle, crossed over the median, and hit Brian head-on. He died instantly. The troopers also informed us that the reason for her loss of control was that she was distracted by using her cell phone. This both shocked and, ultimately, motivated us to learn more." This story shares that a distracted driver caused a fatal accident, which resulted in a death. Many believe that such a thing cannot happen to them, but accidents cannot simply be predicted, they are called accidents for a reason. And though accidents happen unexpectedly, people can work to prevent them. Many common and easy ways to prevent these accidents are avoiding the usage of your cell phone, eating before driving instead of being hungry and eating while driving, and reducing other distractions as much as possible. Some more serious ways are the state taking a more serious look into distracted driving and forcing more serious consequences, instead of looking over them.

Distracted driving is becoming more common and more fatal. The same article used earlier, 10 Distracted Driving Facts And Statistics- 2022 Update, mentions that distracted driving causes almost up to one million accidents per year. Along with this, it also discloses that distracted driving causes up to 3,000 deaths and more per year. Many people start to become distracted without realizing it, but the result of this can contribute to both these numbers. Instead of the state simply giving ads and warnings and court hearings about distracted driving, they should look into more vital topics such as jail sentences. If a distracted driver resulted in a fatal death, it should count as second-degree murder. Such actions like these will help the public to realize their mistakes and work to avoid being distracted on the road.

In conclusion, distracted driving is a more grave topic that should result in more weighty consequences. The state does not do enough to prevent such accidents from happening. Many believe that their distracted driving won't harm themselves or others, but you cannot predict such things. We need to have more voice on this subject and help others see just how urgent this is.