Distracted Driving In Texas.
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Distracted Driving In Texas.
Distracted driving refers to the various types of actions that can divert a driver’s attention from concentrating on driving the vehicle. It is apparent and coherent that no human being can safely drive the vehicle while engaging in other activities that distract attention. Therefore, paying attention to other activities while driving results in destructions that can cause accidents. The problem of distracted driving is very rampant in Texas and the United States as a whole. Many deaths and injuries that result from distracted driving have been increasing in Texas since 2015. Reports have shown that over two thousand people were killed in road accidents caused by distracted drivers.
Further, the reports showed that over four thousand people were severely injured in the USA due to the distracted divers who ranged from teenagers, professionals, and transport system operators. Distracted driving has proven to be a problem in Texas since it kills and injures most young adults, professionals, and other energetic people who could engage in socio-economic and political activities to build Texas. The federal government must act swiftly to address the problem before it wipes out the potential developers. This essay analyses the formulation of policies and the creation of awareness perspectives that Texas’s federal government can adopt to solve the problem.
Most of the deaths and injuries that occurred in 2015 in Texas resulted from car accidents. Although most people assume that electronic or mechanical failures are responsible for the accidents, several things divert the drivers’ attention who end up getting distracted and cause accidents. The following are some of the driving distractions, and none should be ignored for the journey’s whole duration. The use of cellphones while driving, talking to passengers, using electronic devices, children, and eating or drinking while driving are among the distractors. Most teenage and young adult drivers who engage in road accidents use their cellphones while driving (Gliklich and Emily, 489). Cellphones play significant roles as they distract the drivers’ cognitive, visual, and physical ability. The use of cellphones in texting or making calls is the most common cause of Texas’s road accidents. “The time it takes in dialing numbers, typing texts, or reading texts carries the biggest risk of crash” Gliklich and Emily, 489). On the other hand, Passengers engage the drivers in conversations that may demand the driver to take off the hands from the wheel or take the concentration from the road. This is equally dangerous, like eating, drinking, failure the GPS systems, heat condition, backseat entertainment systems, or radio systems that distract the driver.
There is an urgent need to address the distracted driving accidents in Texas. With so many young, old, male, female, armature, and experienced motorists who get distracted every single hour, the roads of Texas are scary and dangerous and devastating. Fortunately, there are several ways that the federal government of Texas can adopt to solve the menace. Most people believe that enacting more stringent traffic laws and creating public awareness are the best measures that the federal government should adopt. Most states of America have laws and regulations that speak against phones to text or call while driving. This is a good thing. For example, texting while driving is illegal in Georgia. The school bus drivers, teenagers, and young adults are banned from using the phones or engaging in activities that could easily distract them from the vehicles’ safer operation (Layba et al., 853). The activities that are identified as distractors by the government of Georgia includes watching movies on portable DVD players, sending emails through cell phones, entering the GPS address, talking on the phone, texting, adjusting radio settings, eating behind the wheel, or watching the children as they play in the back seats. Like most state governments in the USA, Texas has passed distracted driving laws that will reduce the cases of distracted drivers on Texas road. The laws and regulations are useful when the loose ends are tightened and followed by the public. Although there are no specific laws in Texas that prohibit distracted driving, there is called the Cellphone Ordinance, which illegalizes drivers from using a wireless communications device to send messages while driving. The ordinance also notes that distracted driving is a severe form of driver negligence that increases auto accidents. “Every driver has a responsibility of not driving while distracted” (Dumitru et al., 7). Sending, receiving, or reading text messages while driving a vehicle is illegal in Texas. There are also laws against reckless drivers. The driver can receive a ticket if the distraction causes him or her to break the roadway rules.
Raising public awareness is one of the perceived methodologies that Texas’s government can adopt to solve the problem of distracted driving accidents, death, injuries, and damage to the product. Research has shown that Texas’s largest population is aware of the risks that come with using a mobile phone while driving (Dumitru et al., 7). However, Dumitru notes that texting, receiving calls, or sending emails through phones are not the only driving distractors. Drivers are not aware that activities such as eating a sandwich, doing makeup, watching children play in the back seat, or talking to another passenger are among drivers’ distractors. Drivers need to be made aware of such distractors since they are more critical, more comfortable to follow, and more protective than enacting laws. Awareness can be improved through the provision of education at an early age. Technology has evolved in a much faster way that people can put up. “There has been no precedent ray of the type of education that the millennials and x or y generations would need in regards to distracted driving. There are drivers that took driving courses before the advent of cellphones” (Edwards et al., 2018). Therefore, sensitizing drivers through education is paramount as it will help to reduce distracted driving. Sensitization can start with young people by introducing traffics rules in schools, then expanding to license holder drivers.
Sensitization and creation of public awareness are much better than the formulation of laws. Texas’s federal government made attempts to address the problem of distracted driving, bypassing House Bill 62 in 2017 (Edwards et al., 2018). The Bill made it illegal to drive while texting or talking through phones. Since the enactment of the Bill, however, there is little evidence that it has led to a significant reduction of distracted driving accidents, deaths, injuries, and property distraction. The laws and new laws have made no significant changes since it only covers texting. Texting is not the only distraction. Numerous driving distractions are available on modern phones and other devices. For example, navigation systems, social media, music and video apps, and other platforms can make the driver take the eyes from the road or hands from the wheel (Parsons, 182-185). Singling out text messaging and formulating policies on it alone a sure sign of failure in the quest to address the broader distracted driving problem.
Further, there are still drivers under the recommended driving age (above 18) that still drive using the GPS systems. “They use their smartphones to play music, watch videos, and send emails while driving” (Dumitru et al., 7). This is happening because it is hard to identify and prove what people do when in their vehicles. Law enforcers find it difficult since, in most cases, they are unable to prove if the drivers are using any of the distractors. “The drivers do not take the laws serious because there are soft penalties and challenges for law enforcement” (Edwards et al., 2018). The bans on text-while driving are not much intimidating to drivers. Laws take forever to change a particular pattern of behavior than sensitization and provision of civic education.
Laws alone cannot change the habits of drivers. Although the Texas government is making efforts towards improving pedestrians and motorcyclists’ road safety, the laws alone cannot be enough to guarantee safety and reduce distracted driving accidents. Change can come by constant civic sensitization and education offered to all drivers. For example, the government can adopt the Department of Transportation method, which established a campaign to minimize distracted driving in New York. DOT’s campaign included a series of videos that were titled “Faces of Distracted Driving.” The videos’ characters were actual victims of distracted driving accidents who shared tragic stories and those of their relatives. This would be an excellent move to sensitizing the public. Another way of sensitization is shifting the focus to manufacturers. The automobile manufacturers should be encouraged to minimize distraction risks such as navigation, communication, and entertainment devices.
Works cited
Gliklich, Emily, Rong Guo, and Regan W. Bergmark. “Texting while driving: A study of 1211 US adults with the Distracted Driving Survey.” Preventive medicine reports 4 (2016): 486-489.
Edwards, Courtney, et al. “Sorting and Packaging the Evidence: Guiding Implementation of Effective Interventions to Prevent Distracted Driving With a Literature Review.” Texas Public Health Journal 70.3 (2018).
Parsons, Lynn C. “Promoting driver safety by avoiding distracted driving behaviors.” Orthopedic nursing 36.3 (2017): 182-185.
Dumitru, Adrian Iulian, et al. “Effects of smartphone based advanced driver assistance system on distracted driving behavior: A simulator study.” Computers in Human Behavior 83 (2018): 1-7.
Leyba, Cathline, et al. “Adolescent motor vehicle crash prevention through a trauma center–based intervention program.” Journal of trauma and acute care surgery 83.5 (2017): 850-853.