Campaign Against Texting and Distracted Driving - Essay Sample

Text messaging has become part of todays business with many people including drivers, motorists and even pedestrians talking on the telephone. Through texting, chauffeurs can text their status, request information and find information regarding a trip they are having. Road accidents are vulnerable to happen anywhere, and the technology shift has been a contributor of some of these accidents. The internet and mobile technology have dominated modern human life. Texting is distracted driving, and it involves all types of distracted driving including visual, manual and cognitive distractions and 78% of distracted drivers text while driving (Ameen, 2017). Distracted driving is an epidemic, and it should be cured since the cost of text messaging is costly to the extent of costing one their life in trauma accidents.

Distinct states have been against texting while driving, but many drivers neglect the move aimed at saving the costs of the act. In the US, a trauma patient is provided with care summing up to $75,210. Half of this cost is catered for by the hospital index with the total cost of this summing to averagely 27 billion dollars annually' (Weir et al., 2010). Tragic stories have always been given regarding drivers who text and drive. The National Safety Council in the US has recorded 1.6 million crashes out of distracted driving every year with 330,000 of them succumbing to traumatic injuries as a result of texting while driving. It has been recorded that about 9 out of 1000 injured people daily cases in the US arise from distracted driving. The statistics also show that 37,000 out of 421,000 people involved in motor vehicle accidents die every year (Ameen, 2017). There is the need for campaigns that address the dramatic effects accompanying distracted driving. The US governments have not been lenient about the issue. There are some laws in place that prevent distracted driving for all drivers in the 46 states in response to the rising statistics regarding texting and driving. Cities such as Michigan laws implemented rules that lead to fines of up to $200 for distracted driving cases. Manufacturers have also tried to intervene by issuing radios with clocks to replace those on phones. Some are Bluetooth enabled to enable the functionality of wirelessly answering a phone call, as a way of curbing distracted driving. For others, maps are included in case one would need to use them while driving. The AT&T has also come up with a Drivemode app that stops every incoming and outgoing text while driving, a good move to curbing distracted driving (Cellcontrol, 2015: ATT, 2017).

For many people, some texts are too critical to be ignored and hence, the drive to text while driving. For some, driving while texting is an easy activity with many claiming to understand multitasking. Many teenagers text while driving since they have seen adults do it and record the highest incidence of cell phone-related accidents. The AAA poll records confessions from 94% of teenagers regarding texting and driving with 35% of them doing it anyway. Globally, 11 teenagers die daily as a result of distracted driving, and they are four times more likely to get into car crashes when texting and hence, the need for campaigns (Ameen, 2017). 21% of all teenage drivers bring in tragic stories concerning texting while driving. I would emphasize that parents lead by example to show good parenting to the young adults. Parenting involves monitoring one's children, and through the Drivecam, a live video of the kid can be sent to the parent to ensure that good parenting is practiced. One of the pledges I would emphasize on is the Dont text and drive pledge. Various campaigns have been made to curb the activity. In Georgia, the DriveAlert ArriveAlive campaign has been issued to educate drivers and increase public awareness on preventing distracted driving. The city also has the DOT that encourages residents to take a pledge regarding safe driving. These enforcements are, however, not preventing accidents.

Educating employees and even the public about preventable trauma accidents before the pledge may drive in the essence of riskiness in mixing texting and driving. Through the pledge, I can ensure that all workmates, employees and other drivers see the essence of me caring about their lives in future. Through the pledge, they can examine their risky behaviors, give themselves much time, drive distraction-free and educate more individuals on the dangers related to distracted driving. I have seen victims of crashes led by distracted driving and them being cared in the ED and critical care units and have seen the resulting primary devastation. I would insist on the normal way of texting where one is supposed to stop at the defined stopping zones. Further, I would insist on the use of technology such as AT&T applications that curb Facetiming, texting, and snapchatting while driving. I would also be part of the campaign that allows uploading photos with pledge logos to enhance abiding by the pledge. Pledging can be issued through a public awareness campaign supported by some states governors. Billboards can be erected with the slogan Texting and driving? I together with other emergency and trauma nurses also need to team up with law enforcement officials and legislators to create a campaign against mixing mobile technology with driving.

References

ATT. (2017). DriveMode App. Retrieved December 30, 2017, from https://www.itcanwait.com/

Ameen, L. (2017, February 14). The 25 Scariest Texting and Driving Accident Statistics. Retrieved December 30, 2017, from https://www.icebike.org/texting-and-driving/

Cellcontrol. (2015, October 13). 4 Solutions to Texting and Driving for New Drivers. Retrieved December 30, 2017, from https://www.cellcontrol.com/blog/4-solutions-to-texting-and-driving-for-new-drivers

Weir, S., Salkever, D. S., Rivara, F. P., Jurkovich, G. J., Nathens, A. B., & Mackenzie, E. J. (2010). One-year treatment costs of trauma care in the USA. Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, 10(2), 187-197. doi:10.1586/erp.10.8