Four lives. One crash. One mistake can change everything. In 2013 in Cutchogue, New York around 5 p.m. eight friends were traveling in a limo after a weekend trip. In the limo on the way home, a red pickup collided with the limo and splitting it almost in half instantly killing three of the women, and another dying later at the hospital. Every single year millions of lives are lost to drinking and driving, and as a nation this is a very well respected law with high consequences. In 2014 over 1.1 million people were arrested or convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). In recent studies done by Transport Research Laboratory, the reaction time of a drunk driver is decreased by 12%, and over the past 15 years, accidents have decreased dramatically since 2000 when congress adopted a .08 Blood …show more content…
In the United States texting and driving laws are on state to states bases, which leaves questions from state to state and unawareness of laws like it did in the state of Utah. In A Deadly Wandering, by Matt Richtel, he examines the growing influence that technology has on the United States, and uses Reggie Shaw as an example. In 2006, Reggie Shaw was driving when he spun out of control and hit a car head on killing the two passengers. He did not remember the accident, but records showed that he had sent eleven text messages within minutes of the accident and denied it. When the trial rose, the state of Utah was uncertain of how to precede- their unawareness blindsided them. His main point in the book was the growing usage, and posed the question of how can we find a balance? He also reflected on the effects that technology has on the brain while driving, and how much it does affect someone’s driving ability. Shaw’s case exemplifies why as a country, the United States needs national texting and driving laws for balance and awareness and