Persuasive Effect

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       According to  Utah Code Section 41-6a-1716, distracted driving is illegal, and is punishable in a court of law. This detrimental act takes the lives of hundreds and injures thousands every year. Many people justify their actions with Bluetooth and other alternatives, but they have been proven to be just as bad as texting and driving. In fact, distracted driving is divided into 3 main types: visual; manual; and cognitive.

       Visual distractions are defined as anything that takes your eyes off the road. This includes looking at your navigation system, viewing the song playing on the radio, reading text messages, looking in the mirror, and other activities that take your sight off the road ahead. These distractions are one of the most dangerous. According to the CDC under Distracted Driving, “At 55 miles per hour, sending or reading a text is like driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed.” Thousands of drivers each day take their eyes off the road, causing major accidents resulting in injury and even death. By taking your eyes off the road, you are putting yourself, your passengers, and everyone else on the road in danger, risking their safety over a text, song, etc. Your sight is the number one contributor to your ability to drive. When you get your permit or license in Utah, they have you do an eye test in which you have to spot the red light on either side of your peripheral. Failure to do so would result in the need for glasses or contacts in order to operate a vehicle. This is crucial to consider when presented with a potential visual distraction. Your eyes lead you in a safe path, why would you want to sabotage that?

       Another type of distracted driving involves manual distractions. These sorts of distractions take your hands off the wheel, which includes texting, changing the radio or song, grooming, eating/drinking, etc. With your hands off the wheel, many things can go wrong, there could be strong gusts of wind, something in the road, or even another distracted driving merging into your lane. There are many things to watch out for when driving, and adding a manual distraction is a recipe for disaster. Manual distractions are one of the worst, as your reaction time is slowed down due to your hands not being on the wheel, and instead, being worried about the drink, food, or phone. Manual distractions are not only dangerous to you but others on the road as well, as you could easily drift into another lane. It is important to not only consider your safety but also your passenger's safety and the safety of everyone else on the road you may encounter.

       The last type of distraction while driving is cognitive, which takes your mind off driving. Cognitive distractions include thinking about family, personal, or work-related issues, talking to a passenger, talking on the phone, etc. Although these distractions may not take your eyes off the road or hands off the wheel, they are still just as dangerous. This is because your mind is not fully focused on your surroundings. Many people justify their cognitive distractions through Bluetooth connection with their vehicles, as it eliminates the manual distraction of holding your phone to your ear. However, the cognitive distraction for this scenario still exists, and therefore you are still driving distracted and putting everyone else on the road at risk. Cognitive distractions can take over your mind and cause you to disassociate from the world around you. This proves to be dangerous, as you are supposed to be examining the events around your vehicle with a heightened awareness. These distractions cause the opposite to happen.

       Vehicle manufacturers have taken steps to enhance their cars with the most up-to-date advancements, such a Bluetooth, navigation, voice to text, etc., in an effort to prevent distracted driving. Although this may help in some cases, it still does not extinguish the visual and cognitive distractions. This is because many newer cars have huge screens that add to your visual distractions, and even voice-to-text adds to your cognitive distractions. These larger screens are becoming the resource of more distractions. Sure, instead of picking up your phone to read a text or email, you can ask your car play to do so for you, or you can even look at the screen itself, however, this is even more dangerous. Maybe the screen will reduce the manual distraction, but it still does not eliminate the visual distraction.

       There are ways to limit cognitive, visual, and manual distractions while on the road, such as silencing your phone, texting/calling/answering emails before driving, staying organized, and always keeping your eyes on the road. In addition, there are also apps like AT&T’s DriveMode, DriveSafe.ly, Text No More, etc. These apps aid in the prevention of distracted driving by sensing when you are on the road, and muting your notifications until you arrive at your destination. 

       In conclusion, there are 3 types of distracted driving that put everyone on the road in danger: visual; cognitive; and manual. There are many ways to eliminate these distractions, especially with apps designed to limit notifications. There are more distractions now than there ever have been, and it is important to remember that distracted driving does not only affect you but everyone else on the road. Although many people think there are better alternatives for texting and driving, such as voice-to-text, these are just as dangerous. Everyone wants to go home safe to their families, and your inability to resist reading/responding to a message, eating, grooming, etc., can potentially cause someone to not return home. There is only one way to completely eliminate distracted driving, don’t do it. Keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and focus on your surroundings.