Distracted driving is composed of actions such as texting, talking on the phone, eating and drinking, etc. Distracted driving is costly to society because it is incredibly dangerous, costs large sums of money, and can cause good people to become criminalized. Distracted driving is costly to society because it is incredibly dangerous. For example, in the United States alone, over 3,000 people are killed and 400,000 people are injured annually due to accidents involving distracted driving (No Author Listed, 2017). Anytime a driver is operating a vehicle and not paying full attention to the road, the chances of an accident occurring increases greatly. Some studies even equate texting while driving to being legally drunk while driving (Lerner, 2011). Similarly, when one drives distracted, they are jeopardizing the safety of not only themselves, …show more content…
After an accident in which distracted driving was the harbinger, the people involved typically pay medical bills, legal fees if there is a court case, and increased insurance rates. Furthermore, one out of every five accidents that occur are due to distracted driving, and over 40 billion dollars are spent on car accidents each year. With those numbers in mind, the people in the United States spend on average over 8 billion dollars annually on accidents caused by distracted driving (No Author Listed, 2017). In addition, accidents not only cause monetary problems but emotional distress to any individual involved. For example, in a study recently conducted in Europe, 36% of people admitted into intensive care for an injury due to an accident also exhibited symptoms of anxiety disorders (Papadakaki, 2017). As seen by the reasons listed above, distracted driving is incredibly costly to society because it costs large sums of money and can cause emotional