College Students and Texting While Driving
As Humboldt State University in Arcata prepares to resume its classes, residents will be experiencing the yearly influx of college students. With so many college-aged drivers around, Arcata residents may be interested in a new study conducted by King’s College in Pennsylvania published in the International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management about college student driving habits.
The Study’s Findings
The study found that over seventy-five percent of college student motorists have used text messaging apps while driving their vehicles, despite the fact that most of them claim to recognize that doing so is dangerous.
Why?
Researchers at King College’s McGowan Business School said in their report that the problem might be explained by young adults’ “need to be connected” as well as their “impulsiveness.” The research team also discovered that men, in particular, tend to agree about the dangers of driving and texting but believe they are better at doing so than others. Researchers noted that a common mindset seems to exist among college students dictating that texting while driving is “dangerous for everyone but me.”
A Serious Problem
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that over nine Americans are killed and over 1,000 sustain injuries every day due to crashes related to distracted driving.
Because of the increasing weight of the issue, the U.S. Department of Transportation has started a public awareness project. The campaign highlights the thousands of deaths caused by distracted drivers annually and focuses on text messaging as “by far the most alarming distraction” due to the way texting affects the driver’s manual, visual, and cognitive abilities.
Additional Reports
One study from the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York found that texting while operating a vehicle has surpassed driving under the influence (DUI) as the leading cause of death in the nation for teenagers. Data from other reports indicate that drivers reading or sending texts have slower response times than drivers impaired by marijuana or alcohol.
Safe Driving Apps
If you are looking to do your part in reducing the frequency of texting while driving accidents, one step you can take is to change your phone. There are apps that you can download, as well as encourage your family and friends to download, that turn messaging capabilities off when you are operating a vehicle.
These apps include TrueMotion, which is free on both Android and iOS devices. It offers a unique feature that informs motorists after they finish their trip when they may have been distracted during driving.
Another safe driving app is DriveScribe, which not only blocks incoming calls and texts while you are driving but also alerts drivers if they reach excessive speeds.
Related Content from Napa Car Accident Lawyer, Ed Smith
Eureka Car Accident Lawyer & Personal Injury Attorney
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