Topic > Assessing whether Florida does enough to prevent distracted driving

Cell phones along with many other things distract drivers from paying attention and could be the cause of your death. Distracted driving is a weapon that causes an unimaginable number of deaths every year. Additionally, Florida is the 41st state to eliminate texting while driving. Unfortunately, unlike most of these states, the law is a secondary offense. Beyond that, calling while driving is still allowed and you cannot write a ticket unless the officer witnesses other violations. The state certainly does not have a law that prevents the use of the telephone to talk, which is one of the main causes of distracted driving. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Therefore, these facts, along with many others, are the reason why the state of Florida does not do enough to prevent distracted driving. People's deaths could have and still can be prevented if only using your phone while driving was against the law in the state of Florida. Deaths caused by distracted drivers are increasing every day. Distracted driving is any activity that takes your attention away from driving, such as talking or texting on the phone. In fact, studies show that drivers who talk on the phone while driving are four times more likely to be involved in an accident than people who don't talk on the phone. Although some might say that hands-free calling systems are safer, this is misleading and wrong because what causes the distraction is not the hands that are not on the steering wheel but the individual's mental concentration. Driving is definitely a privilege, along with freedom. For this reason, high mental alertness, selective attention and extreme concentration are required when it comes to driving. If so, Florida should enact a law that prevents cell phone use while driving and allows officials to stop people and give them a ticket if they see you. Additionally, in the state of Florida approximately 11 teenagers are killed every day by drivers who text and drive, and approximately 25% of traffic accidents are caused by distracted driving. In 2015 alone, 391,000 were injured in car crashes involving distracted drivers. Not to mention that approximately 660,000 drivers use cell phones while driving. Furthermore, according to statistics, accidents due to distracted driving have increased by 26% since 2013. As a result, this creates a huge potential for deaths and injuries on US roads. Even with these statistics running through its head, Florida still needs to step up to the plate and teach teenagers about the dangers of distracted driving. Although the law states that a person cannot operate a motor vehicle while typing and/or viewing a wireless device, a police officer cannot issue a ticket without him/her witnessing other violations along with it. To summarize, Florida does not do enough to prevent distracted driving because calling while driving is still allowed and the regulations are very limited. Every day people die due to other people's distractions while driving. As a matter of fact, humanity nowadays believes that their phones are more important than the steering wheel, which causes people to lose control and cause fatal accidents. Therefore, the state of Florida should try to administer and regulate the roads more. Furthermore, they should also make a greater effort to try to prevent distracted drivers from using these roads.