Don't Let Distraction Put You at Risk: Eating & Grooming in the Car - Essay Sample

Distracted Driving

Society can be plagued with numerous issues that interfere with its residents' wellbeing. One such issue is loss of life; many fear this frightening reality. Over time, various issues have contributed to the loss of lives. One such cause of deaths in society has been car accidents; accidents have increased dramatically as more drivers remain unaware of road rules. Due to limited measures implemented to limit accidents, their numbers have skyrocketed. Some issues that contribute to an increase in accidents can be managed while others cannot; one key cause of accidents being distracted driving; with cases increasing year over year leading to more incidents and accidents than ever.

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Use of Cellphones

One of the major reasons that has led to increased case of distracted driving is the use of cellphones. The rise in technology has helped in the development of mobile phones, which has been vital to ensure communication (Chan & Singhal 302). People have an ongoing need to communicate, especially while driving. Receiving text or call notifications while on the road often prompts an urge or desire to respond immediately, thus driving can become stressful when getting texts and phone calls that require instant replies. Mobile phones have also led to addiction; people constantly want access to different websites and social media. Driving vehicles requires drivers to pull over at a roadside in order to use their phones, however many drivers reach unwittingly for their cellphones while driving and begin using them while using them as they navigate - AAA has reported that teenagers are twice as likely as adults to use cellphones while driving - taking eyes away from safely navigating roadways for prolonged periods of time and distracting their attention away from keeping an eye on driving could potentially result in loss of life or serious injuries in road accidents - according to World Health Organization studies cell phones have been identified as one of the main causes in contributing to such tragedies causing such tragedies.

Talking With a Passenger in Car

The second issue that has contrived to distract driving leading to car accidents is the presence of a passenger in the car. Most people usually have a passenger as they as driving since it is inevitable at times. Many people believe that having a passenger in the car helps to reduce boredom and keep the driver active (Abouelnaga, HYPERLINK "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=y2iJhG8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra" Eraqi, and Moustafa 98). However, as the passengers engage in communication in the conversation, many become interesting, and the driver may become absent-minded on the road leading to a road accident. According to the research conducted by the AAA foundation, 15% of the total road crashes as caused by communicating with passengers in the car.

Eating or Drinking in the Car

Eating is the third issue that has led to increased distraction leading to road accidents. Human beings get hungry after a certain period, and this issue prompts them to carry snacks when they are driving and especially long-distance. After a while, the driver may feel hungry and decides to reach for something to eat (Young and Salmon 45). As the driver is reaching for the food or drink, the hands may get loose on the steering wheel, and this may cause result in loss of control. Gaining control of a car once lost may be challenging and could result in a road collision, while there may even be those who resort to drinking while driving. Drinking causes these individuals to be intoxicated, and they will lose the clear vision of the road. The result of this issue is that a road accident may occur.

Grooming

The fourth issue that has resulted in distraction leading to road accidents is grooming while driving. Females are most affected when it comes to this issue, and it includes both adults and teenagers. The main reason why females are most affected is that they are more concerned about their looks than men (Barr Jr, et al. 370). Therefore, as the females are in, they may start combing their hair or looking themselves in the mirror. In the process, the mind gets distracted, and the attention shifts away from the road. The results may be that the car may crash on to another, or it may lose control, thus veering off the road.

Watching Vides

When an individual is driving him or she might be tempted to look at certain videos. Cars that are developed currently come with a small set screen that is meant for providing a different type of visuals to the driver. In some cases, some drivers use these screen to watch different types of videos. When one is the driver and begins to look at these videos, they might catch all the attention. In some cases, drivers can use their phones to watch some visuals. In many cases, some individual will receive a clip or video from their colleague. Due to anxiety on what that clip could have, the driver will end up opening it. This issue will reduce the concentration on the road. Therefore, the driver will have a little focus on the road, and it will easy for him or her to cause a road carnage.

Possible Objections

All the matters that have been stated above have contributed a lot to the rise in the number of road accidents. As much as all the matters are true, there are some possible objections on some of them. The first objection is that it is not only teenagers who use their cellphones while driving. Adult drivers have caught on to technology's wave and increasingly use their cellphones while driving, particularly during traffic jams in the United States. Many drivers opt to keep using them instead of losing focus when stuck behind the wheel. However, the use of phones while driving has been banned in the Unit States because it has been ranked as the leading distractor. The other objection is that the number of road crashes that have resulted from grooming while driving is very few. Despite the number being few, the accidents still lead to the loss of human life that would have been of great advantage to the development progress in the society. The last objections is that it boring for one to drive alone. Though driving alone may be tedious, taking necessary precautions should never be underestimated. When carrying passengers, make sure there is minimal communication to minimize distraction.

Conclusion

Concluding, distracted driving is one of the major leading cause of road accident among the adults and teenager in various places. Various issues have contributed significantly to the rise in accidents due to distracted driving. One of the elements of destruction is the use of cellphones to text, receive calls or browse the internet. This problem is attributed to the rise and adoption of technology in various places. The other key factor that causes destruction is the presence of a passenger in the car. These passengers will engage the driver in communication making him, or her lose concentration on the road. Eating and drinking while driving was the other critical issue that was found to be another factor that leads to distracted driving. While eating, the driver might be tempted to use his hands thereby losing grip on the steering wheels. The fourth element contributes to distracted driving is grooming while driver because it will affect the concentration. The Last aspect of distracted driving is to look at videos and other visuals while driving. Despite all these problems that have contributed to road accidents there is an objection on some issues such as one the use of mobile phones as there are individuals who use them when stuck in traffic. However, it is recommended to be on the safe side by paying attention to the precautions.

Works Cited

Abouelnaga, Yehya, Hesham M. Eraqi, and Mohamed N. Moustafa. "Real-time distracted driverposture classification." arXiv preprint arXiv:1706.09498 (2017).

Barr Jr, Gavin C., et al. "Gender differences in perceptions and self-reported driving behaviorsamong teenagers." The Journal of emergency medicine 48.3 (2015): 366-370.

Chan, Michelle, and Anthony Singhal. "Emotion matters: Implications for distracteddriving." Safety science 72 (2015): 302-309.

Young, Kristie L., and Paul M. Salmon. "Sharing the responsibility for driver distraction acrossroad transport systems: a systems approach to the management of distracteddriving." Accident Analysis & Prevention 74 (2015): 350-359.