Anything can be a distraction when we are driving, walking or running. These can be from the smallest most pointless thoughts or items that distract you but there's the biggest offender for being a distraction is the mobile phone. We’re all guilty of using our phones when we should be focused on our surroundings. Many do not understand just how much of a serious distraction the phone really is.
It was recorded by the ‘department of transport’ that out “ of the 88 deaths caused by distractions in 2012, 17 were due to mobile use”. This itself was specifically for deaths on the road during driving and this doesn’t even in
clude the amount of less fatal incidents caused by the illegal use of being on the phone whilst driving. Even Though it is a legal offence to use your phone while driving, people are still willing to take this life-threatening risk.
Although it's not always the driver at fault, with many pedestrians not paying attention to the road and instead on their phones. For instances, a woman in China was looking at her phone when crossing the road causing her tragic death. Unfortunately, situations similar to this is more common than most of us are willing to b
elieve.
Besides mobile phones distracting us from the road, they distract us all from less obvious items. Such as our natural surroundings. If you were to go to a park and counted how many people were on their phones or any other electrical devices you would most likely count more people using their technology rather than enjoying the park. This maybe less of a life-threatening issue but it is still one which is far too common and is causing younger generations too not share the same experiences as the older generation may have experienced.
With the phones being such a significant distraction, If they will kill by a road accident from less of distraction. Or they will be the reason
why many people will regret the time they wasted on their phones instead of experiencing the world when it's too late for them to do so.
Since writing this report, new informant based on the policies for phone usage whilst driver was published by the government. The new policies state that six points and a £200 fine will be the penalty for any driver caught breaking the law. However, the punishment does vary by how much experience a person has or if they have a record for breaking said law. Such as a new driver caught will be made to retake the test, whereas someone who has already committed the crime could go to court and face a six-month ban along with a £1000.
The government created the new penalties when the number of accidents on the roads due to phone usage increased since 2012 and is still
rising. Although some campaigners believe the government could do more to stop fatalities from happening. ⁴Darrell Martin lost his brother due to a dangerous driver texting who killed the cyclist Lee Martin because van driver Christopher Gard was careless. However, Gard was sentenced to nine years in jail after having six convictions beforehand. But with the new laws and consequences, fatalities due to dangerous driving should become unknown for future generations to come.
