driving blind why texting while driving is a leading cause...
TRANSCRIPT
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Driving Blind
Why Texting While Driving is a Leading Cause of Car Accidents
Sarah Mason
18 December 2014
IDP 4UI
Mr. Melnyk
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A child closes their eyes to prove they know their home well enough to travel around
using only muscle memory. As they slip around door frames and curve around armchairs they
smile with a sense of pride and confidence. This individual game of life brings excitement and a
rush that keeps them playing over and over again. They know there is the possibility of an
obstacle crossing their path and tripping up their feet, but they have walked the halls of their
house a million times. They know they can do this. However this time is different. A box, that
was not there before, lays on the floor. The child blindly crashes into it and stumbles in a giddy,
tangled mess, and they laugh at their failure of the game. They open their eyes to find everything
is okay. Almost everything, that is, except the box that now lies crushed in a destroyed,
disfigured, unrecognizable mess. The box is lifeless. The box is a teenager, making their way
across the street with the white glowing outline of a walking man indicating it is safe to proceed.
The door frames and armchairs that are narrowly missed are cars filled with people carrying out
their everyday routines: coming home from work, travelling to the grocery store, or picking up
their toddlers from daycare. The house is a road. The child is a driver. The closed eyes are two
eyes focused on reading a text message. And the game is in fact, no game at all.
It takes a minimum of five seconds for a text message to be read while driving. That is
equivalent to driving blind for five seconds. No person in their right mind would close their eyes
for five seconds while driving, as driving is not childs play. Yet, a painfully astonishing number
of drivers admit to texting while driving. In a study focussed on the perceptions of safety and
texting while driving, as passengers, a great majority of people regard the behaviour as extremely
unsafe. However, texting while driving has increased so much in prevalence that it is now 1
1 "National Phone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and ..." 2011. 5 Dec. 2014 <http://www.distraction.gov/download/researchpdf/8396_DistractedDrivingSurvey120611v3.pdf>
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known to cause more traffic accidents than impaired driving. This imbalance between 2
recognizing the dangers of texting while driving and the growing occurrence of the behaviour
begs the question: what is preventing drivers from acting on this knowledge such that they do not
think twice about reaching for their phone? Despite the illegality of texting while driving, it
continues to occur as a leading cause of car accidents due to ineffective societal awareness,
increasing technological reliance, and strong psychological connections to devices.
Videos can be the most powerful forms of media to get a message across to an audience
and Public Service Announcements (PSAs) use this strategy to inform people about the potential
colossal danger of texting while driving. PSAs, worldwide, work to create aggressive
advertisements that strive to ensure audience members are fully engrossed in the video. In a
Welsh PSA made in 2009 by the Gwent Police Department, a girl was texting behind the wheel
as her car drifted, ultimately murdering her two friends. The video is highly graphic, but the
director, Peter WatkinsHughes, said that “Young people were telling us, ‘It needs to be more
shocking, it needs to be more violent, it needs to be more truthful’.” As suspected, the video 3
went viral and received well over 4 million views on youtube, demonstrating how violent PSAs
are able to grab audience attention. From One Second to the Next, directed by Werner Herzog 4
for AT&T, takes the opposite approach to the matter, by documenting the aftermath of four
specific accidents. This PSA follows the emotional pain and physical disabilities that have
crippled those involved in texting while driving accidents, and:
2 "Distracted driving caused more 2013 deaths than impaired ..." 2014. 17 Dec. 2014 <http://www.680news.com/2014/03/04/distracteddrivingcausedmore2013deathsthanimpaireddrivingopp/> 3 "Driven to Distraction Video on Teenagers Texting While ..." 3 Dec. 2014 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/technology/01distracted.html> 4 "Driven to Distraction Video on Teenagers Texting While ..." 3 Dec. 2014 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/technology/01distracted.html>
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“though it has a clear, educational agenda, it's no less emotionally resonant than Herzog's other films, which often find the director plunging into the extremes of human existence.” 5
This documentary resonates with viewers as it shows how those who get into accidents while
texting and driving are average, relatable people. These two extremes of PSAs are created with
the intent to scare drivers out of continuing the behaviour, however this violence has the opposite
effect on audiences.
Studies have determined that the horrifically graphic visuals in PSAs cause many drivers
to text and drive just as much as before. PSAs often pay significant attention to the violence and
little to the actual issue, resulting in a misconception of the intended message. In a study
copublished by Dr. Ron Lennon, a marketing professor at the University of South Florida, it was
determined that PSAs cause audiences to feel more compelled to conduct the behaviour that is
shown in the video. A study, which asked participants to rate their likeliness to text and drive on
a scale from one to seven, determined that:
“before the videos were shown, the average for texting and driving was 3.44 and for talking and driving was 4.31. After watching the videos, the average for texting went up to 3.54, a 3 percent increase, while the average for talking went up to 5.15, a statistically significant increase of 11 percent.” 6
These numbers suggest that graphic footage creates a backlash. The visuals are so brutally
graphic that they come across movielike, and therefore unrelatable, enabling drivers to believe
that accidents will not happen to them. Due to the lack of educational points presented in most
5 "Werner Herzog Tackles Texting and Driving in Devastating ..." 2013. 3 Dec. 2014 <http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/wernerherzogtacklestextinganddrivingindevastatingdocumentary20130809> 6 "Social Marketing and Distracted Driving Behaviors among ..." 4 Dec. 2014 <http://legacy.usfsm.edu/marketing/news/2010/textingdrivinglennon.php>
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PSAs, videos do not prove to be effective in the long term. Tim O’Brien, of O’Brien
Communications, said graphic PSAs:
“run the risk of desensitizing the audience not only to the violence but also to the message [...] ‘The third or fourth time the viewer sees the same PSA, the shock value is lost and the message becomes part of the media wallpaper’.” 7
Viral videos often climax in popularity and plummet soon after, so it is crucial that the message
is clear and powerful from the onset. However, in most texting while driving PSAs, the most
important message, the educational point, is either missing or lost in the violence. To ensure the
message is not lost, more focus needs to be on what happens when you pick up your phone
behind the wheel. Professor Richard Tay, a road safety researcher at the University of Calgary
says:
“I don’t think you need to show the car crash [...] You show what happens in terms of what the driver’s looking at, how they’re missing a lot of what’s going on on the road when they’re focusing on their BlackBerry or iPhone.” 8
Professor Tay focusses on what needs to be on the forefront and his idea is supported by
O’Brien’s statement. If these PSA videos fade into the background, audiences should be left
with the resonant fear of what happens to everyone each time they text and drive, instead of what
is a possible outcome. The behaviour continues to be a leading cause of car accidents as many
drivers are painfully unaware and ignorant to the dangers of texting while driving, and
campaigns are formulating to increase awareness of this issue.
Texting while driving awareness is developing, as campaigns such as ‘It Can Wait’ are
made with the objective of eliminating texting while driving, and therefore lowering the number
7 "New PSA Goes Graphic With Message Against Texting ..." 2009. 4 Dec. 2014 <http://www.technewsworld.com/story/67948.html> 8 "Driven to Distraction Video on Teenagers Texting While ..." 2009. 17 Dec. 2014 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/technology/01distracted.html>
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of resulting car accidents. The AT&T campaign, introduced in September 2014, determined that
75% of teenagers claim that it is common for their driver to be texting and driving. ‘It Can 9
Wait’ is a campaign dedicated to receiving pledges from people, a promise that they will never
text while driving. As of Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at 10:25 am, 5,625,402 pledges have been
made. Although AT&T is an American based phone company, anyone around the globe can 10
make the pledge to not text and drive. That suggests that globally, nearly 6 million people have
promised to never pick up their phones while driving, and the number of pledges increases by the
minute. The campaign also utilizes pop culture and new societal norms to draw attention to the
pledge and, respectively, to the issue. Demi Lovato is one of the main supporters of the
campaign and she often makes statements on Twitter to motivate her followers to never text
while driving. Her tweet “Just because you're in a rush doesn't mean you can't #X before you
drive! Make time. No text is worth a life. #ItCanWait” received 18,108 favourites and 12,744
retweets. Lovato’s role in the campaign makes audiences care about texting while driving. ‘It 11
Can Wait’ has strengthened their campaign by including Lovato, a celebrity with a large fan
base, as a figurehead and role model, therefore educating a considerable audience about the
issue. These campaigns are formed to raise awareness and prevent accidents and yet, many
drivers do not regard the behaviour as bad and continue to text and drive.
Despite the efforts of campaigns and companies focussed on combatting texting while
driving, the issue continues to exist and escalate as a staggering number of people have no real
understanding of the issue and its potential to result in harm or even death. Texting while
9 "AT&T Launches Campaign to Stop Texting While Driving." 2012. 2 Dec. 2014 <http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2012/09/24/attlaunchescampaigntostoptextingwhiledriving/> 10 "It Can Wait: Make a Pledge Against Texting & Driving." 2003. 2 Dec. 2014 <http://www.itcanwait.com/> 11 "It Can Wait: Make a Pledge Against Texting & Driving." 2003. 2 Dec. 2014 <http://www.itcanwait.com/>
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driving has surpassed impaired driving in the number of crashes caused per year, yet the stigmas
surrounding those two crimes are viewed on extremely different levels. Texting while driving
needs the same level of social stigma as drunk driving. Texting while driving increases your
crash risk 620 times more than impaired driving, but “texting while driving—somewhat
bizarrely, given the actuarial research findings about relative risk—hasn’t yet fallen under a
proportionally similar and consistent social stigma.” Despite the threat texting while driving 12
poses, the social stigma that the issue deserves and needs, has not taken hold. The issue will
continue to grow if it is not viewed by society as a behaviour worthy of denouncing. The fact
that this behaviour is not considered to be as dangerous as it needs to be also stems from the lack
of awareness about the behaviour. Despite the fact that many people regards texting and driving
as an unsafe behaviour, 44% of people ages 1820, 49% of people ages 2124, and 26% of
people ages 2534 still send text messages and emails while driving. This suggests that, on a 13
base level people recognizes the act to be dangerous and yet, the behaviour is not affected by this
knowledge. Those who continue to commit the crime are either ignorant to the potential fatality
or believe they are invincible. It is clear that awareness of the issue is not doing enough to stop
the behaviour and prevent accidents, so laws are put in place and revamped in pursuit of
diminishing the behaviour.
Texting while driving is against the law in all Canadian provinces and in many American
states, and these laws are established to help prevent the continuation of the behaviour. They are
put in place to halt a behaviour that has claimed too many lives. Due to the lack of compliance
12 "Texting while driving is worse than driving drunk, so why no ..." 2014. 4 Dec. 2014 <http://www.technologytell.com/apple/137882/textingdrivingworsedrivingdrunkequivalentsocialstigma/> 13 "National Phone Survey on Distracted Driving ... NHTSA." 2011. 14 Dec. 2014 <http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811555.pdf>
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to the laws in Ontario and Quebec, both provincial governments are working to strengthen and
toughen the consequences, with hopes to finally reach the conscience of the perpetrators.
Ontario planned to have the revision of the bill implemented in Fall 2014. In Ontario, the bill
“would hike fines from the $60 to $500 range to between $300 and $1,000 and three demerit
points.” Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government recognized that the law was not 14
creating a lasting impact on drivers in Ontario, so now they are making the effort to enhance the
law. By doing so, attention has been drawn to the issue by media coverage. The government has
undertaken a grand initiative with the revitalization of the bill. Those who continue to text while
driving “will be hit harder, both in their wallets and on their driving records. Ontario motorists
could face the heaviest distracted driving penalties in all of Canada.” This significant increase 15
is a step in the right direction for Ontario specifically, and for Canada as a whole. Ontario
drivers who are caught would be ticketed with the worst consequences in Canada and other
provincial governments may be motivated to revive their laws as well. In Quebec, the
government noticed that there has been a significant increase in drivers caught texting while
driving, and is considering increasing demerit points. Quebec is now “considering tougher
sanctions against drivers who are caught texting, including hitting them with four demerit
points.” The Quebec government has noticed the lack of obedience to the current law and are 16
working on reinforcing it with a greater consequence in an attempt to bring this issue forward
14 "Texting while driving Toronto Star." 2014. 3 Dec. 2014 <http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/08/25/texting_while_driving_could_lead_to_1000_fine_3_demerits.html> 15 "Ontario plans to introduce $1000 fine for distracted driving." 2014. 3 Dec. 2014 <http://www.ctvnews.ca/autos/ontarioplanstointroduce1000finefordistracteddriving1.1976782> 16 "Quebec considering more demerit points for drivers caught ..." 2014. 3 Dec. 2014 <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebecconsideringmoredemeritpointsfordriverscaughttexting/article20780362/>
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again. While it makes theoretical sense that texting while driving is against the law in order to
stop resulting car accidents, laws appear to be ineffective in halting the behaviour.
Despite the laws on texting while driving in most of North America, the prevalence of the
issue, and the resulting accidents, continues to increase. Laws are set in place to prevent a
behaviour or an act from occurring because it poses a threat to society. For example, in Quebec,
there is conversation about increasing the demerit points received if caught texting while driving.
While on the surface this seems to be a positive action, the reason behind this stronger
consequence is “the number of motorists who have been nabbed doing so has climbed to 66,089
in 2013 from 11,485 for the last six months of 2008.” This suggests that since the first six 17
months of its illegality, the number of people picking up their phones while driving has
increased. This begs the question, is strengthening the laws going to be enough on their own? In
a 2010 Highway Loss Data Institute bulletin, four controlled states were monitored for the
effectiveness of texting while driving laws. The results show there is no change in crash
reduction and this “suggests that texting drivers have responded to the law, perhaps by
attempting to avoid fines by hiding their phones from view.” This discovery validates that 18
texting while driving laws cannot eliminate the issue on their own, as drivers continue to use
their phone. The only difference now is that they are hiding it. There must be a push for
education and awareness beyond the governmental policies to fully get the message to the public.
17 "Quebec considering more demerit points for drivers caught ..." 2014. 4 Dec. 2014 <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebecconsideringmoredemeritpointsfordriverscaughttexting/article20780362/> 18 Laws, T. "Highway Loss Data Institute Bulletin Insurance Institute for ..." 2013. <http://www.iihs.org/media/fc4953006f8c419d84d7c3b94d178e5a/631033115/HLDI%20Research/Bulletins/hldi_bulletin_27.11.pdf>
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Poor awareness proves to be a main reason why texting and driving accidents still occur, so a
few companies have taken to technology to help combat the issue.
Many big name car companies are taking the initiative to create infotainment systems
which aim to reduce incar distractions and, consequently, reduce car accidents. Ford, Chevrolet,
Chrysler, and a few other companies, recognize the importance of cell phone usage and
connectivity in today’s society, and have crafted incar voice activated services that are hands
free. The Chevrolet manufacturers are the first to be compatible with Siri as a way to ensure
drivers make driving their main focus, as it should be. The Siri Eyes Free “system allows limited
handsfree interaction for when you need to compose important messages on the go.” By 19
Chevrolet offering this system, it demonstrates that technology has the potential to help combat
the issue of texting while driving specifically, and distracted driving as a whole. UConnect is an
infotainment system that offers a large range of options for multiple manufacturers. It promises
glamourous features such as “having your favorite entertainment at your fingertips, locking your
door from hundreds of miles away or using your voice to send a text” to entice consumers into
buying the system. This is another incar system that works to improve safety by having 20
voiceactivated communication, along with multiple other functions that are created to reduce
distraction for the driver. It would appear that UConnect is focussed on the wellbeing of the
driver. These two infotainment systems could improve the safety of the roads however, like a lot
of technology, these systems have functionality issues, resulting in the continuation of texting
while driving accidents.
19 "Chevrolet MyLink: Take Control Of Your Vehicle's Technology." 2012. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://www.chevrolet.com/mylinkvehicletechnology.html> 20 "Uconnect® Access | The next generation of connectivity has ..." 2012. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://www.driveuconnect.com/features/uconnect_access/>
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While incar voice to text systems are created with the vision of safer roads in mind,
these systems prove to be distracting drivers due to their poor functionality, which amounts to
the continuation of traffic accidents. In two studies led by University of Utah’s Professor David
Strayer and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, infotainment systems for common auto
brands and Apple’s Siri voice system were examined. In the first study, the infotainment
systems were given a grade on their distractibility on a scale from one to five, five being
“comparable to doing complex math problems and word memorization.” The results of the 21
first study show that:
“the accuracy of voice recognition software significantly influences the rate of distraction. Systems with low accuracy and reliability generated a high level (category 3) of distraction.” 22
This demonstrates that the advanced systems placed in common auto brands (Chrysler, Ford,
Chevrolet, etc.) are currently a detriment to safety. They require nearly the same amount of
attention as physically typing out messages and navigating cell phones. In the second study,
Apple’s Siri proved to be the most distracting of all voice activated systems. When “these
systems become more complex, like sending text messages or posting to Facebook, it pushes the
workloads to pretty high levels.” The increased functionality of these systems may appear 23
glamourous from a consumer standpoint, but as a driver, the main focus needs to be on the road.
These infotainment and voice activated systems have two repercussions, either the driver uses
21 "New studies point out dangers of 'talking' to car | Fox News." 2014. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/10/07/studyfindssmartphonesinfotainmentsystemsworsendistracteddriving/> 22 "Texting While Driving Archives AAA NewsRoom." 2011. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://newsroom.aaa.com/tag/textingwhiledriving/> 23 "New studies point out dangers of 'talking' to car | Fox News." 2014. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/10/07/studyfindssmartphonesinfotainmentsystemsworsendistracteddriving/>
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the distractible system, or they become frustrated and succumb to using their device again.
Texting while driving accidents are still highly prevalent as the reliance on technology increases,
yet, similarly to the infotainment systems, phone companies have applications that aim to
prevent these traffic accidents.
AT&T is the leading phone company in texting while driving road safety, and their
mobile applications aim to prevent resulting car accidents. Along with their campaign, ‘It Can
Wait’, AT&T has created a mobile application that is focussed on reducing the temptation of
picking up a cell phone while driving. The application is called DriveMode and is a lockout for
your phone when you are travelling at a certain speed. Along with disabling the ability to use the
device, it will “automatically send a customizable reply to incoming messages when the vehicle
starts moving 25 mph”. This automatic message system is an attempt to reduce the temptation 24
for drivers to reach for their phone. Those on their contact list will receive the message notifying
them that the sender is driving and hopefully they will not reply. When the car is travelling at
less than 25 miles per hour, the safety feature turns off and the driver can receive their messages.
However, in pursuit of safety, the app will only turn off “when the vehicle slows to less than 25
mph for 5 minutes.” As drivers often come to full stops at red lights and stop signs, this feature 25
aims to ensure that in those moments of driving at a speed below 25 miles per hour, drivers will
not pick up their devices, as rarely do these stops last more than five minutes. This extension of
AT&T’s ‘It Can Wait’ campaign pursues the diminishing of texting while driving accidents, and
a few other companies have made similar mobile applications.
24 "AT&T DriveMode®." 2011. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://www.att.com/Common/about_us/txting_driving/att_drivemode_factsheet.pdf> 25 "AT&T DriveMode®." 2011. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://www.att.com/Common/about_us/txting_driving/att_drivemode_factsheet.pdf>
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The phrase ‘there is an app for that’ is true in the case of texting while driving, as there
are a few downloadable mobile applications that are made to prevent drivers from picking up
their phones and getting into accidents. As texting while driving is statistically proving to be a
growing issue, these applications serve as a way for phone users to curb their temptation to text
and drive, much like the DriveMode application from AT&T. As a way to ensure that drivers do
not pick up their phones until they have reached their destination, mobile applications such as
Sprint’s Drive First application and DriveScribe attempt to eliminate that distraction.
DriveScribe will “automatically send a response to text messages, alerting your contacts that
you’re unreachable at the moment.” Drive First “disables some of the phone’s functionality 26
when a driving situation is detected, locking the driver’s cell phone screen and redirecting calls
to voice mail.” A common “excuse” for phone usage while driving is that it was an emergency 27
and the contact needed a response right away. With these applications that send automatic
messages to contacts, the driver would not see notifications and would have no temptation to
pick up their phone. While these applications are made with the intention of preventing traffic
accidents, these applications take the driver out of the equation, preventing them from
developing self control, and instead relying only on technology.
Similarly to the infotainment systems that are in many auto brands, applications have
been made downloadable with the intent to prevent texting while driving, but are failing to
succeed and have not helped abolish the behaviour. Applications which are made to prevent the
issue of texting while driving are feeble, as they do nothing to alter the behaviour in the long run.
26 "Apps That Block Texting While Driving Verizon Wireless." 2014. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://www.verizonwireless.com/mobileliving/apps/appstoblocktextingwhiledriving/> 27 "6 Mobile Applications to Prevent Distracted Driving Accidents." 2012. 7 Dec. 2014 <http://www.automotivefleet.com/article/story/2011/08/6mobileapplicationstopreventdistracteddrivingaccidents.aspx>
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Applications that are designed for all drivers have the ability to be turned off. While a few
companies have created phone applications that claim to “automatically disable certain
functionality within wireless devices while a vehicle is in operation” there is one main point that
suggests these applications do little to improve the issue. While these companies say their 28
applications automatically disable certain functions, ultimately the phone user has the ability to
delete the application. They are optin downloads that do little in the long run, as phone users
tire of relying on technology to control their behaviour and eventually return to their original
habits. Although teenagers are not the only offenders of texting while driving, companies have
developed parental control applications for parents who are concerned for their teenager’s safety.
Parents become the designated administrators of the app and they “have passwordprotected
control of the app.” However, this reliance on technology to prevent the behaviour is obsolete. 29
When the teenager grows up, and is no longer under parental control, they will have learned
nothing about the dangers of texting while driving. Instead, they will only know that picking up
their phone costs them a week of punishment from their parents. Relying on technology to stop
texting while driving is inefficient because society’s connection to devices is what is at the heart
of the issue.
The increasingly fast paced and increasingly addictive nature of technology, in particular
cell phones, has enabled the fatal behaviour of texting while driving to continue to grow in
prevalence. Despite the knowledge of the potential dangers of picking up a phone while behind
the wheel of a car, drivers still feel compelled to do so because of the reliance they have on
28 "6 Mobile Applications to Prevent Distracted Driving Accidents." 2012. 15 Dec. 2014 <http://www.automotivefleet.com/article/story/2011/08/6mobileapplicationstopreventdistracteddrivingaccidents.aspx> 29 "New apps attempt to stop teens from texting while driving ..." 2014. 15 Dec. 2014 <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/newappsattempttostopteensfromtextingwhiledriving/>
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technology to maintain social connections. Car crash survivor Liz Mark’s story is a clear
example of this harsh reality and its impact. In an interview, Liz Marks said:
“I used my cellphone every second every minute every hour. Like if I didn’t have it, I would freak out, because I couldn’t connect with my friends… If I didn’t have my cellphone I felt lonely.” 30
Liz Marks is one of many people who feel the temptation that pulls drivers into picking up their
phone. The accessible and ever present ability to stay connected proves to be a detriment.
As devices have become smaller, higher functioning, and a societal norm, they have become a
basic part of people’s daily lives. Sociologist Rich Ling’s idea is that “mobile communication
[...] has transformed from new and revolutionary into a takenforgranted part of everyday life.” 31
Essentially, due to the increase in prominence of technology in today’s society, mobile devices
are tolerated anytime and anywhere. As a result of this tolerance, texting while driving struggles
to be stigmatized. Texting has become embedded into society’s very being and due to this, a
false perception of a driver’s ability to text and drive is formed, resulting in the continuation of
subsequent car accidents.
Texting while driving is a mentally taxing behaviour that requires significant attention to
two highlevel tasks, although many people believe that it can be done without causing an
accident. As with any scenario that is deemed difficult, or even impossible, there is always
going to be someone who believes that it is possible and that ‘practice makes perfect’. This
confidence is common in young adults who have grown up surrounded by technology. It is
statistically believed that “77% of young adults are very or somewhat confident that they can
30 "Liz Marks Texting & Driving Story YouTube." 2014. 8 Dec. 2014 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7911kgJJZc> 31 "Why Do People (Still) Text And Drive? | Scott W. Campbell." 2013. 8 Dec. 2014 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scottwcampbell/whydopeoplestilltext_b_4269298.html>
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safely text while driving.” As young adults are seemingly more confident and efficient with 32
technology, it is logical that the adolescent brain feels this way when they pick up their phone
while driving. These feelings may be the result of the belief that ‘practice makes perfect’. When
told of the risks of texting while driving, frequent responses consist of “‘I am good at
multitasking’ or ‘I learned how to use my phone while driving safely’.” Those who truly 33
believe that they are good at multitasking and have learned to complete the task, have never been
in an accident. While some argue that training your brain to text and drive is possible, this
confidence in multitasking is a myth, and is a factor in the continuation of texting while driving
accidents.
Socalled ‘confidence’ in texting while driving is a psychological mask for feelings of
fear, denial, and invincibility, which in turn encourages drivers to continue this behaviour. The
continuation of texting while driving is the result of the defence mechanism humans use to
combat fear. People use denial to combat fear. Every day, humans are faced with potential
dangers:
“and in order to live in the world without unbearable fear, we develop strategies to deny the reality of these risks. [...] That kind of denial, that nothing bad will happen to us when we take risks, is something we're all prone to.” 34
As a result of covering fear instead of facing fear, drivers continue to pick up their phones with
the belief that dangerous things only happen to others. This acts as false assurance for drivers to
32 "Texting and Driving Statistics Texting and Driving Safety ..." 2011. 9 Dec. 2014 <http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/textinganddrivingstats/> 33 Lee, Victoria K, Chantelle R Champagne, and Louis Hugo Francescutti. "Fatal distraction Cell phone use while driving." Canadian Family Physician 59.7 (2013): 723725. 34 "Texting While Driving and the Seduction of Invincibility ..." 2009. 10 Dec. 2014 <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/21stcenturyaging/200912/textingwhiledrivingandtheseductioninvincibility>
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continue this behaviour as they have a perceived invincibility, which often stems from
incompetence of multitasking ability. In a study, it was determined that those who:
“report using their cell phones while driving were the least likely to perform well on the Operation Span task. They were also the most likely to express confidence in their ability to successfully multitask.” 35
This disproves the claim that texting and driving is safe so long as the driver is a good
multitasker and has practiced the act. In fact, those who believe that they are able to drive and
text are the ones who were deemed the least able to complete the task. The ability to complete
two highlevel tasks is a myth and the idea that ‘practice makes perfect’ with texting while
driving is a false perception. These false notions enable the continuation of car accidents,
although it can be argued that despite these perceptions, drivers have the mental ability to put
down their cell phones.
Some people believe texting while driving is not an addiction and the continuation of
distracted driving accidents has nothing to do with society’s physical inability to put down their
devices behind the wheel. It has been claimed that, while texting has increased in prevalence, it
is not as extreme as it is believed to be. Young adults have grown up in a society where
technology is a norm. It can be argued that if the need to be constantly connected “through your
cell phone is normal, then it probably isn’t an addiction.” As texting is not deemed an 36
addiction, it can be assumed that drivers have the ability to stop themselves from picking up their
phones when driving. In addition to the knowledge that texting is not defined as an addiction, in
a study conducted by Paul Atchley, a Cognitive Psychology professor, it was determined that
35 "Confident Multitaskers Are the Most Dangerous behind the ..." 2014. 10 Dec. 2014 <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confidentmultitaskersarethemostdangerousbehindthewheel/> 36 "Are You Addicted to Your Cell Phone? | Psychology Today." 2013. 10 Dec. 2014 <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mentalmishaps/201303/areyouaddictedyourcellphone>
18
people are more likely to delay responding to a text message if there is a reward for the delay.
The results demonstrated that “If you’re talking about texting an acquaintance back, people are
willing to wait almost indefinitely to get that monetary reward.” It could be argued that since 37
society has the ability to put their cell phones down at any given point if they are offered a
reward, they should be able to keep it down while driving, as their reward is safety. Despite
claims that texting is not an addiction, drivers continue to pick up their phones to compose
messages, resulting in accidents, because drivers do not have the mental ability to stop.
Regardless of whether or not texting is defined as an addiction or a compulsion, texting
while driving continues to cause accidents due to the driver’s desire to always be reachable and
connected. Although texting behind the wheel has a high risk of causing an accident which
could result in serious harm or death, it is apparent that many drivers place responding to
messages as more valuable than life. The issue lies with the fact that, with a clear head, drivers
have the knowledge that texting while driving is dangerous, but when they begin driving that
thinking is lost. This is because “Addiction is what drives the behavior. There is a
psychological mechanism where [people] deny the fact that this one instance will not be
dangerous. That is a complete cognitive distortion.” Regardless of a driver’s knowledge of the 38
potential dangers of picking up their phone behind the wheel, the compulsive need to reach for
their device takes over their ability to rationalize the behaviour. This is the result of “perceived
responsibility.” Text messages can be accessed anywhere and this ability to be connected all 39
37 "New Message: Texting Is Not an Addiction | The Fix." 2012. 10 Dec. 2014 <http://www.thefix.com/content/textingaddictioncompulsion90904> 38 "The dangerous psychology of texting while driving | Fox News." 2014. 11 Dec. 2014 <http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/11/10/dangerouspsychologytextingwhiledriving/> 39 "Obsessed with Using Your Cell Phone While Driving ..." 2011. 11 Dec. 2014 <http://www.alertdriving.com/home/content/obsessedusingyourcellphonewhiledrivingresearchersconsiderwhy>
19
the time makes users feel as though they have increased obligations and responsibilities. Drivers
pick up their phone behind the wheel as they “feel compelled to do so because of a heightened
sense of stress and anxiety.” The act of texting while driving continues as the behaviour is a 40
compulsion, in which drivers believe the need to respond to messages is the most important thing
to do at that time. Therefore, in the moment a driver picks up their phone, the compulsion to text
while driving is stronger than the desire to live. Despite the multitude of car accidents caused by
texting while driving, it can be argued that it is not the most distracting behaviour.
While texting and driving does cause accidents, it can be argued that texting is not the
most dangerous form of distraction, and therefore causes no more accidents than other
distractions. Along with texting, distractions such as talking in the car, the radio, eating, and
applying makeup, arguably take a driver’s focus off the road just as much as texting. The most
detrimental fact about all distracted driving is that the longer the driver’s eyes are off the road,
the greater the accident risk becomes. It is said the idea that cell phone use is the most dangerous
distraction while driving “couldn’t be more untrue [...] if a driver’s eyes are anywhere but on the
road, the chances of having a car accident increase times three.” This statement generalizes all 41
forms of driving distractions under the same umbrella of danger. Arguably, it suggests that
texting while driving could not possibly be one of the leading causes of car accidents, as it is on
the same level of danger as talking to the person in the passenger seat. Similarly, it is believed
that focussing attention on texting while driving alone will result in an increase of accidents
caused by other distractions. This is due to the issue that “If you get people to stop talking on
40 "Obsessed with Using Your Cell Phone While Driving ..." 2011. 11 Dec. 2014 <http://www.alertdriving.com/home/content/obsessedusingyourcellphonewhiledrivingresearchersconsiderwhy> 41 "What Are Common Misconceptions About Texting and ..." 2014. 10 Dec. 2014 <http://www.examiner.com/article/whatarecommonmisconceptionsabouttextinganddriving>
20
their cellphones or texting, but not addressing any other kind of distractions, then they’re likely
to go back on them.” According to this statement, specific attention on texting while driving in 42
fact increases the prevalence of other distracted driving behaviours. While this may be true,
placing texting while driving on the same danger level as other incar distractions wrongfully
weakens the perceived danger of the behaviour, leading to the resulting continuation of traffic
accidents.
The inability to recognize the greater distraction of picking up a cell phone behind the
wheel is one of the reasons why texting while driving is a leading cause of car accidents. In fact,
texting while driving is the most distracting behaviour of them all. By comparison, texting
conversations are more distracting than incar conversations and fiddling with the radio which
are two common incar distractions. When a driver is talking to someone they cannot see, there
is an increase in “cognitive load. [...] ‘[drivers] create a mental image of them.’ [...] The task
occupies more available brain power than passively listening to a radio, which requires no
interaction.” Beyond the visual distraction of looking down at a screen instead of out the 43
windshield, cell phones provide a mental distraction as well. This overload proves this
behaviour is too cognitively intense for driving. Furthermore, drivers do not realize how poorly
they are driving, as they are focused on their cell phones. In a study taken of drivers of all ages,
“very few respondents (0% to 2%) report drifting out of the lane or roadway while talking on the
phone.” However individually, “teens who text while driving spend approximately 10% of 44
42 "Texting and Driving Not Much More Dangerous Than Other ..." 2010. 10 Dec. 2014 <http://www.ubergizmo.com/2010/09/textinganddrivingnotmuchmoredangerousthanotherbaddrivingbehaviours/> 43 Seppa, N. "Impactful Distraction | Science News." 2013. <https://www.sciencenews.org/article/impactfuldistraction> 44 "National Phone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and ..." 2011. 11 Dec. 2014 <http://www.distraction.gov/download/researchpdf/8396_DistractedDrivingSurvey120611v3.pdf>
21
their time on the road outside of their lane.” While this particular statistic is referring to 45
teenagers, the metacognitive awareness of driving is lost to cell phone distraction in all age
groups. Ultimately, texting while driving is the most distracting incar behaviour, as drivers are
mentally unable to concentrate on the road and their phone safely.
Regardless of the laws on texting while driving, it remains a leading cause of car
accidents due to the ineffective societal awareness efforts, the increase in reliance on technology,
and the psychological impact of technology. The wellintended attempts of public service
announcements, campaigns, and safety features from technology try, with minimal effect, to
prevent this behaviour from continuing. However, the absence of obedience does not justify
giving up on trying to halt this issue. The presentation of the faults that lie with what has been
done to end texting while driving is not intended to diminish the efforts. Rather, the knowledge
is to be used as a springboard to formulate unique and specific ideas to end this issue for good.
The effort cannot stop now. If the issue continues, the person coming home from work, the
person driving to the grocery store, and the person picking up their child from daycare may never
carry out these everyday activities again. The teenager crossing the street when the white outline
of a walking man shines back at them, indicating it is safe to cross, could be lifeless. They could
die, not in peace, but rather under the wheel of a car. Texting while driving is not a game, as
unlike in a game, there is no retry button. It is a delicate, fatal reality, more intricate than the
common driving offence, because it is up to the driver, the person living and breathing that
moment, to decide whether or not reading the word ‘hello’ is worth never being able to say a
final goodbye.
45 "Consumer Statistics and Studies | Drive ORIGO® Prevent ..." 2012. 11 Dec. 2014 <http://www.driveorigo.com/consumer/distracteddrivingstatistics>
22
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