An Analysis of The Issue of Distracted Driving in The State of Florida

Is distracted driving taken seriously in the state of Florida? Some would say yes it is, but I think not. In Florida, distracted driving is underrated and overlooked. It is also not punished severely enough. “In 2012 alone, 3,328 were killed in distracted driving crashes,” (1). Teens and adults text or talk constantly on the phone without realizing the harm that they are potentially setting up for themselves and others. Distracted driving is also only punishable if a person is pulled over for speeding, swerving, etc.

Teens get into distracted driving car crashes more than adult drivers do. In most cases, it is due to texting while on the road or some other variable such as speeding. Therefore, it is important to stress the seriousness of distracted driving. For the five seconds, it takes to look down and read a text message a driver can drive the distance of an entire football field. In this, one can run a red light or stop sign which can end with a fatal result, jail time, or both. Most drivers do not take driving while doing something that can be seen as a distraction seriously because they have seen others do it (in cases for teens) or feel confident that they can drive while texting. But no one is above the physics of driving while distracted. The only solution to this is to put the phone down and focus on driving or have someone in the car to take care of phone calls, changing radio stations, and whatever else may serve as a distraction.

Also, the only way to make people take distracted driving serious is to make the consequences stricter. In the state of Florida, there is a ban on texting for all drivers but it is only a secondary law, which means that it only takes effect if a driver is pulled over for speeding, running a light, swerving, et cetera. The problem with this is there may not always be authorities around to catch this person who is texting while driving and who can potentially kill others or cause harm to themselves. If it was a primary law, an officer can grant a ticket to the driver for texting or talking without any other traffic infraction taking place, then drivers everywhere would put their phone away and drive appropriately as to not take the risk of being pulled over at all. If the law does not become more severe, the current statistics for distracted driving will go up.

All in all, people may say that the state does enough about distracted driving, but if it did shouldn’t the law against texting while driving be a primary law, instead of a secondary law? If it were it would make others more cautious and not use their phones and the numbers for deaths caused be distracted driving would be down.