With the growing abilities of cell phones to have texting,
games, internet, and almost any app imaginable, there is a growing risk of people
using cell phones behind the wheel. The
distraction potential is increasing every time we “take our eyes off the road,
our hands off the wheel, and taking our mind off what we are doing”. In 2008
the United States Department of Transportation reported over a half-million
people injured and almost six thousand people killed because of distracted
driving. (Tarafdar, Gupta, Turel, 2013) Our
use of technology behind the wheel can be a very dangerous thing and many of us
have a bias that we are good drivers and that we can multitask with our cell
phones. The scary reality is that we
really cannot.
Many states have been passing laws against texting and
driving or driving without a hands free set due to all the accidents and
fatalities that have been associated with cell phone use. Texting is very distracting
because it takes our eyes off the road, a hand off the wheel, and our mind off
our driving. When I have texted while
driving I have seen this and I have had some close calls because of it.
Texting and driving is bad, but is just talking on a cell
phone driving really that bad? According to Professor David Strayer at the
University of Utah drivers talking on their cell phones “are just as dangerous
behind the wheel as drunk drivers.” I am not sure if everyone fits this
description that talks and drives, but I have seen plenty of people driving
crazy and when I pass them they are talking on their cell phones. (Tarafdar,
Gupta, Turel, 2013)
Cell phones behind while driving can be bad, but it is our
choice whether to use them or not. If someone texts me when I am driving I
usually try to text at stop lights or I try to just call the person. A good
practice would be to not text at all and if we need to make a call make it very
short. Our best practice should probably
be no texting while driving and no talking while driving
Tarafdar, M.,
Gupta, A. and Turel, O. (2013), The dark side of information technology use.
Information Systems Journal, 23: 269–275. doi: 10.1111/isj.12015
Accessed from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/doi/10.1111/isj.12015/full
Great post! It really is becoming such a problem and I wonder how many deaths will happen before the laws change.
ReplyDeleteI did see a news article about the red thumbnail - it is suppose to remind people to leave their cell phone alone while driving. A lot of men are painting a red thumb to remind them. And some nail salons are doing the gel nail for people for free as part of the movement. Kind of a cool way to spread the word!
I will post a link to the website! #redthumbreminder
ReplyDeleteThis is something I see constantly and it scares me! I think the issue is that many people feel confident about their driving that they think they can multi task with being on their phone. Isn't driving by itself a huge risk anyways? I am guilty of talking on my phone while I drive sometimes….it's terrible. I usually just try to keep my phone out of my view while I drive!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic, texting and driving just don't go together and is not cool at all. I had an experience with it once and I will never ever text and drive again, fortunately I didn't crashed while I was texting but I was very close. I think the major problem is that people think they are very good drivers an underestimate their driving weakness. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a huge issue, and it happens with people of all ages. People dismiss it as "I'm at a red light" or "There's barely anyone on the road". It's sad to say that some people just won't get it until they see the consequences or experience them for themselves, and by that time it's too late. But scare tactics don't always work. What kind of advertisements or ideas would you put out in the world that aren't scare tactics to try and get people to be aware and stop using their phone while driving?
ReplyDelete