Driving While Texting - Essay Sample

Oprah Winfrey in his speech suggested, "All we have to do is to hang up or switch off. It is that simple." Different from her suggestion, accidents caused by texting and while driving cannot be reduced by simply switching off the phone or hanging up while on a call. The challenge is technical than it seems. By so being technical, the solution is similarly technical and cannot be reduced to switching off and hanging up.

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Firstly, the initial stage of solving this problem is acknowledging that it is a problem that cannot be solved within us. It is a crisis that requires the intervention of all the agencies involved. The number of accidents caused by the distraction of the phone while driving is so huge that the issues cannot be ignored anymore. It can also not only be solved through simply assuming that when drivers switch off or hang up their phones the numbers of such accidents will reduce.

According to traffic police, texting while driving is mostly done using smartphones (Tefft, 2018). A technological solution must, therefore, be developed. The same smartphones that cause distractions while driving are the ones used by drivers for navigation purposes. Navigation apps installed in smartphones are used to give directions making it difficult for most drivers to switch off their phones. Finding a solution for texting while driving using a smartphone should be technological. Smartphones should be developed in a way they can detect when one is driving. That way they can block all messages notifications including calls and emails. While blocking calls and emails these smartphones should be able to allow navigations application to function. The underlying fact explained in this paragraph is that since it is a disaster caused by technology it requires a technological solution. The technological application that has been explained has been tested and used on the iPhone. It should be made a compulsory application for all Smartphones.

Additionally, ending accidents caused by texting while driving might not be simple because insurance covers provide some of the best deals to drivers. A driver who is aware that their insurance company will find them solutions after they are involved in road accidents is likely to become reckless on the road. They might develop the tendency to text drive driving. To find a solution, insurance covers should limit compensation for accidents caused by texting while driving. By limiting compensation, it is quite reassuring that they will start incentivizing people to drive safely. They might also think of offering premiums for drivers who agree with frequent monitoring of safe driving and limited distraction while driving.

Accidents caused by text driving might not end easily if the law is not tight on those found culpable. Most drivers might not find it appealing to switch off their phones or hang up because the law allows them to use their phones. In the US about sixteen out of the forty-nine states of America through their legislative laws are the ones that have forbidden holding a phone while driving (Rudisil, Baus, & Jarrett, 2019). The rest thirty-three of the states legally allow drivers to hold their phones and use other applications except for calling and texting (Rudisil et al., 2019). For traffic cops, it is difficult to establish legal action against a driver especially when it is difficult to know if they were texting or using another application. The traffic laws in the entire country should be changed so that, as in the United Kingdom holding a phone is illegal while driving. In the above paragraph, the explanation identifies tat solving accidents caused by distracted driving is not as easy as switching off the phone or hanging up if the laws still in favor of texting while driving.

In conclusion, reducing the number of accidents caused by distracted driving is not as easy as switching off or hanging up the phones. As stated in the thesis statement reducing accidents caused by distracted driving requires a lot of aspects and the involvement of multiple agencies. As mentioned in the subsequent paragraphs acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step, secondly using technology is another solution, involving insurance agencies might also be a solution and lastly, changing the laws of the state might be possible shot towards solving an increase in accidents caused by text driving. It is not as simple as suggested.

References

Rudisill, T. M., Baus, A. D., & Jarrett, T. (2019). Challenges of enforcing cell phone use while driving laws among police: a qualitative study. Injury prevention, 25(6), 494-500.

Tefft, B. C. (2018). Reducing crash risk and improving traffic safety: research on driver behavior and performance. Institute of Transportation Engineers. ITE Journal, 88(8), 30-34.