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Messaging while driving essay
1. Messaging While Driving Essay
Background
Messing or texting behaviors behind the wheel have become
increasingly common amongst drivers in modern society. This has
consequently contributed a great deal to texting related to
accidents. Additionally, the number of subscribers using different
mobile phones has increased in the past years, for instance in the
US, there were almost 302.9 million wireless subscribers by
December 2010, which is an increase from 100 million
subscriptions within four years.
Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the gadgets are quite
ambiguous in the country hence, corresponding messaging
behaviors. Such habits are also known to be leading causes of
distractions amongst drivers thus leading to car crash deaths.
When distracted, the lives of people in the cars are endangered,
lives are also destroyed and injuries are caused to the driver,
passenger and other road users.
Distraction is a broad aspect including diversion of the attention
of the driver from the significant role of driving to other things
temporarily thus affecting his or her decision making, awareness
as well as performance. Such issues have also raised a lot of
concern on road user’s safety both in government, general public
and other stakeholders.
For this reason, many states are implementing new laws designed
to curb such risky habits amongst drivers and enhancing safety on
the road.
Problem statement
Texting while driving is increasingly becoming an issue of concern
amongst different stakeholders including the general public and
the government. This is primarily based on the fact that such
2. behaviors are known to cause distractions amongst drivers
especially when it comes to their decision making and their
attention on the road. The distractions indeed are highly
associated with high number of road accidents meaning the issue
is also threatening the safety of our roads.
Given such conditions, injuries and death rates as a result of road
carnages have been increasing by the day. Therefore, this research
will help to analyze issues linked to increased road accidents as a
result of texting behind the wheel.
Purpose Statement
This research aims at investigating messaging issue while driving
to offer solid and essential details to the people in regards to the
dangers involved. Creating awareness will be the most ideal way
of finding a solution to the menace since with proper awareness;
the people will be able to make informed decisions when driving.
This research will additionally help to offer a clear response to the
research question on texting while driving related risks. The paper
will additionally demonstrate how messaging while driving
increases accident risks by stating facts based on existing
information showing how such behaviors on the road have been
fatal and quite destructive. The information will offer substantial
details that will benefit road users and transport industry
stakeholders for them to generate new measures and strategies for
curbing the menace.
Central Research Question
This paper will be based on research question
Does texting behind the wheel endanger the lives of road users via
road accidents?
3. This question will act as a guide to the researcher on the major
features that this research will focus. The research question in
other words helps to define the scope of the research by analyzing
reasons behind such behaviors. Different approaches will be
utilized in generating an answer to the question including a
comprehensive literature review demonstrating the present state
of research issue.
Additionally, the researcher will employ a qualitative approach in
generating useful data to be used in answering the question and
offering proper understanding on to what level or extent such
behaviors are considered detrimental to safety of road users. This
research question will further guide the study in determining the
relationship between texting behind the wheel and road accidents.
Research Hypotheses
This study will be based on the following hypotheses
1. All kinds of distractions amongst drivers pose a lot of risk to
all road users including pedestrians, passengers, the driver
and bystanders. The hypotheses are also based on the fact
that the behavior distracts the attention of the driver both in
the brain and hand such that the person will not be able to
act swiftly in the event of emergency or dangerous situations.
2. The use of gadgets that do not permit texting behind the
wheel amongst drivers can help reduce road carnage risks.
Such gadgets can take a design that doesn’t permit the use of
mobile phones for instance texting or calling when the car is
in motion.
3. Effective and ideal channels should be employed in
communicating messaging while driving related risks. For
example, the media can use campaigns aimed at warning
drivers among other related parties on the dangers of such
habits using video clips and banners among such tools.
4. Clarification of Terminologies
Distracted driving
This means the diversification of a driver’s attention from driving
since he or she is concentrating temporarily on another thing for
example an event, object, a person or other tasks that are not
related to driving. This consequently reduces the decision making
ability of the driver, performance and awareness on the road thus
increasing chances of road accidents.
Assumptions that may Bias the Research
This research will be based on the notion that many drivers are
more likely to text than any other kind of distraction behind the
wheel. The notion will be useful in emphasizing the most common
type of distraction on the road and in this case, messaging.
Additionally there are other distractors that drivers are prone
including hand free calls but in this case, it is presumed that
drivers often text while driving.
The notion is additionally based on the fact that the paper will
focus on determining the extent to which messaging interrupts
the attention of a driver and its subsequent effects. The
assumption will additionally be instrumental since the impact of
messaging behind the wheel cannot be solely based on the
growing number of road accidents.
Additionally, many are accidents are caused by other things
including lack of proper experience, drinking, carelessness and
lack of driving skills. The assumption is therefore very crucial
when ensuring the researcher needs ideal research findings.
Literature Review
The increasing concerns on interruptions on drivers have
occurred as a result of increasing road accidents caused by such
5. things. There are various factors that have been closely associated
with driver’s interruptions while on the road even though not
quite prevalent compared to messaging. Such distractions have
been noted to cause many accidents since they lead to lack of
concentration or focus by the drivers.
Messaging while behind the wheel is additionally known to be
unsafe habit since it is a considerable source of interruption for
many drivers (Robertson et al, 2013). It is therefore essential in
this case to determine the reason as to why drivers are interrupted
by such texting habits. Generally, humans are serial processors of
information. This means that such people cannot multitask. This
assumption as a result rules out the idea of multitasking since
people quickly change their attention from one part to the other
across other roles on the belief that they can multitask.
However in real sense, this is not the case and any efforts to
multitask often leads to minimal attention to other tasks.
Robertson et al (2013) therefore noted that processing of
information is quite significant in driving since it is an act that
involves ‘divided attention’, a task that also includes a lot of
interruptions with the manual, cognitive and visual components.
The attention moreover that the driver must accord to driving is
often based on driving experience, the complexity of driving as
well as driving experience.
Robertson et al (2013) stated that:
…inexperienced drivers must consciously focus more on
remaining within their
Lane, whereas for experienced drivers this is very reflexive. An
inexperienced driver, particularly one who is driving a
technologically complex car, has to focus far more on controls
and systems than someone who is familiar with the vehicle. (p.2)
6. Texting while driving, therefore, is a great distraction that can
lead to fatal consequences.
For instance in 2010, interruption of drivers was found to be the
leading cause of up to 18percent of fatal cases killing
approximately 3092 people and causing up to 416000 injuries.
When using mobile phones to text behind the wheel is
additionally quite dangerous since they cause cognitive, visual and
manual interruptions. Messaging causes diverted attention on the
side of the driver from the driving itself as well as hands from the
wheel.
Such interruptions are particularly common amongst young
drivers or people (Farris, 2011). In real sense, many teenagers also
die on the road because of texting related behaviors since they are
drunk while driving. Research also reveals that up to 40 percent
of American teens say that they have travelled in vehicles where
the driver uses a mobile device in an inappropriate manner thus
exposing them to a lot of danger.
An average teenager texting in the US sends and receives more
than 3000 texts on monthly basis. Adult drivers also face
distractions and dangers from such habits when on the wheel.
Even so, the interruption may not be quite dominant as it is the
case amongst young drivers (Farris, 2011). Teenagers in addition
have a habit of engaging in activities on their devices that expose
them to a lot of risks compared to adult drivers.
Trends noted amongst teenagers as a result show clearly that they
are exposed to a lot of danger compared to adults. With growing
numbers of teenagers using mobile phones, this also raises alarm
on their safety on the road as well as that of other road users.
It is therefore essential to note that texting behind the wheel
causes 23percent more times worse compared to uninterrupted
form of driving. Similarly, about 11 percent of drivers are
7. teenagers between the ages of 18 and 20 years and the get
involved in road accidents but lucky to survive in the event of
sending or receiving messages during the accident.
The driver’s diverted attention from the road when using mobile
phones often takes about 5 seconds. For example, if the driver is
travelling at 55 miles per hour, they would cover the same
distance without interruption for 5 seconds, perhaps, the distance
of a football field (Codey, 2013). This consequently means that the
interruption time is often compromised.
Past research studies further reveal that messaging while driving
subjects a driver to more cases of swerving the car in the wrong
direction, into other lanes and other cases, the driver can move
close to other cars compared to drivers who are driving under the
influence of marijuana or alcohol. The driver, passengers,
motorists and other road users therefore are exposed to a lot of
danger by a driver who is distracted (Codey, 2013).
Therefore, distracted kind of driving has been an issue of great
concern despite having licensed drivers who understand and
admit that it is extremely risky to use mobile gadgets behind the
wheel since they pose a lot of danger to the safety of a person. The
risk is additionally becoming worse as time goes by following the
ever growing technological advancements that allow people to
utilize their smart phones and other devices to text, make social
media updates and to chat.
What’s more, a large number of licensed and authorized drivers
have admitted engaging in risky acts such as texting. According to
Codey (2013), despite the global disapproval of mailing or
messaging when behind the wheel, many drivers are still known
to have read, sent or typed a message or an email while driving.
Methodology
8. This study will utilize qualitative method in carrying out the
research as its most ideal case study methodology. The approach
will be efficient in offering more understanding to the issue in
question within the area of study (texting while driving), thus,
playing a crucial role in enhancing the already existing literature
or study.
The case study is additionally a qualitative research approach that
helps researchers to evaluate modern real life situations while
offering an ideal platform for ideas application. In this case,
application of the case study methodology will focus more on
evaluating the situation of messaging while behind the wheel in a
given region. The study in our case will also focus on assessing
and evaluation the research issue, which in our case; the study is
being carried out in New York, US. The geographical region
selection will also be useful in determining the situation at hand
thus getting the most ideal picture of the research issue.
Even so, the study will utilize secondary and primary data in
seeking the ideal answer to the research question. The primary
data will also be collected via interviews with chosen sample from
New York drivers while secondary details will also be collected
from books, articles and journals among other secondary sources.
Such secondary sources will also be achieved online while others
from the libraries.
Secondary sources have been partly used in generating literature
review in the study proposal. The gathered information also
demonstrates dangers of road users as a result of messaging
behaviors that have become quite rampant. Primary data will also
be gathered via in-depth interviews. The information plays a
crucial role in enhancing secondary information. Therefore, the
interviews will be the most significant data collection tools for
primary information.
9. The data collection tool will also be efficient in getting the real
scenario on the ground since it will help the interviewer to focus
deep into the subject of interest while exploring more into real
research issue. The researcher will additionally use 100
participants as sample including drivers selected randomly
between the ages of 15 to 50 years.
The process of data collection will also take up to a month and to
enhance data collection comprehensively in make general the
results across the entire population. Interviews will also employ
an open ended approach for flexibility purposes. The design will
also enable the researcher to develop more sub questions as a way
of getting more elaborate details from research respondents. The
interview question will further focus on use of mobile phones
while driving.
Project Calendar
Period Activities
1Month
Developing & presenting the
research proposal for approval
2Month
Visiting the field of study and
gathering data
1Month Analyzing the data
1Week Presenting the report
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11. References
Codey, R. (2013). The Fata Dangers of Texting while Driving.
Retrieved from
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/12/26/the-fatal-dangers-
of-texting-while-driving/
Farris, A. (2011). LOL? Texting while Driving is no Laughing
Matter: Proposing a Coordinated Response to Curb this
Dangerous Activity. Journal of Law & Policy, 36(233):233-259.
Robertson, R., Mayhew, D., Brown, S., & Valaar, W. (2013). Driver
Distraction and Hands-Free Texting while Driving. Traffic Injury
Research Foundation, 1(1):1-10.