The Dangers of Texting and Driving

Technology has come a long way, making it near to irresistible, but that can come at a serious cost. Smartphones connect everyone to everything; other people, the news, the weather, GPS, and social media. Smartphone also connect to vehicles with being able to change music, take calls, and adjust GPS. These features sound great and helpful, but they can cost lives. A person who takes their eyes off the road to look at their phone are easily distracted from their surroundings. During their distractions they have high risks of injuring themselves and others. Texting and driving is dangerous to everyone.

Approximately one out of four car crashes in the United States is caused by texting and driving. In sixteen states, along with United States territories: Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, even holding your phone while driving in general is illegal. In nineteen states, holding while driving in the presence of children, in the case of bus drivers, is illegal as well. Just how dangerous is cell phone use while driving if it is banned in almost twenty states? According to the CDC, "Each day in the United States, approximately 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver." (CDC.gov). Texting while driving can not only take your life, but an innocent bystanders'. Even though everyone knows these dangers, yet people still text and drive.

To understand why people still text and drive, there is context on just how much people use their phones every day. According to study by Dscout, the average person will touch their phones 2,617 times a day; they will spend around four hours in total every day going through their phone. With every alert and message the phone gives off, people are more likely to check it. Social media updates and a quick text message may seem like a safe way to use your cellular device while on the highway, but in reality those few seconds their eyes are down to their screens, can cause disaster. Phone use has been shown to be highly addictive and American cellular companies need to make phone easier to ignore while on the road.

In conclusion, texting and driving is harmful to everyone. The people who are injured or are killed, their friends, and their families alike. Ways to connect your phone to the car completely hands free needs to be taught to everyone. The unnecessary phone activity needs to diminish. Phones are highly addictive but they will never be as important as someone's life.