Distracted Driving is when an activity preoccupies a driver which diverts their attention to another task, thus being absentminded to the road and their surroundings. Distracted Driving is an important problem because a large majority of people use their phone, have kids, or listen to music while driving. While being distracted, you can cause accidents and bring harm to others since you aren't paying attention to the road. For instance, cell phone usage while driving causes visual, cognitive, and manual distractions thus causing safety issues.
Some things that cause distracted driving include texting, calling, eating, loud music, watching a video, reading, navigating (including GPSs), changing the radio, kids, and other passengers. As said by the League of Michigan Bicyclists, "Each crash caused by cellphone use represents an avoidable loss of time, resources, and potentially life."
25 states, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have the hand-held cellphone use ban. Novice drivers and teen drivers are prohibited to use cellphones by 36 states. 18 states and D.C. ban any cellphones for school bus drivers. 48 states along with D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have a text-messaging ban which bans text messaging for all drivers. (Govenors Highway Safety Association)
Research from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) shows that Michigan had 12,788 crashes caused by distracted driving in 2016. 5,103 people were injured and 43 people were killed. Data also shows that there were 20,115 crashes and 72 fatalities caused by distracted driving in 2017.
Michigan has a primary law which is an All Cell Phone Ban for school bus drivers. Michigan also has an All Cell Phone Ban for Novice Drivers with a Level 1 and Level 2 license. Learn more about State Laws from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). The Michigan State Government, shows that from July 1, 2010, Michigan has a law which forbids texting while driving. Motorosts are fined $100 for a first offense and sunsequent offenses cost $200.
Research has shown that a distracted driver has an increased stopping distance than an alert driver in the same conditions (road conditions, speed, etc.)
For instance, an alert driver with a speed of 36m/s has a reaction time of 1.5 seconds and a distracted driver with the same speed has a reaction time of 3 seconds. This results in an alert driver having a reaction distance of 54 meters and a distracted driver has a reaction distance of 108 meters.
In addition, the alert driver has a stopping distance of 103 meters and a distracted driver in the same conditions has a stopping distance of 184 meters.
This evidence points to the fact that a distracted driver is more likely to be in an accident than an alert driver because the reaction time and stopping distance of a distracted driver increases.
When you are in a vehicle and if you hit a tree with an accelerating speed and a decreasing speed, the impact and damage would be greater when you are at an accelerating speed. This is important to note because this can cause more damage and harm to the passeners in the vehicle. In this same situation when you are distracted and alert, you would hit the tree when you are distracted. However, when you are alert, your reaction time would allow you to stop before you hit the tree.
We can contribute to increased safety by preventing distracted driving. Solutions include...