Our society loves the internet. We love our computers and our smartphones. Most people feel lost if they are separated from their mobile phone for very long. People tweet, download and read news on the internet. They constantly feel the need to update their status on Facebook. Unfortunately, some people out there do these things while driving. Driving and talking on a cell phone causes many, many car accidents, usually due to the driver being distracted. Surfing the internet is far more distracting than just talking on the phone, it requires looking at a screen and thus not looking at the road. It also requires the use of fingers to type in queries and search for information, so hands are not on the steering wheel. The level of concentration required to surf the internet makes combining it with driving a very dangerous thing that could lead to a serious automobile accident.
As reported in USA Today, according to a study done by State Farm Insurance, 19 percent of motorists who own a smartphone admitted to using it to access the web while driving, as compared to 74 percent of motorists who owned up to talking on their cell phone and 35 percent who admitted that they text while driving. Having said that, there is evidence that younger drivers are paying attention to recommendations to not text, talk or surf while driving, whereas the mom and dad demographic may be the worst offenders.
While the actual numbers of people who admit to using the internet while driving is alarmingly high, many claim that they only did it while waiting at a stop light or sitting in heavy traffic. Texting or surfing the internet while traffic is stopped is definitely preferable to speeding down a highway while trying to download a new app for your phone or checking your favorite teams’ scores. However, even sitting still and surfing the internet can cause an automobile accident.
It all comes down to distraction. Operating a two ton vehicle requires full awareness of what is going on around you, even at a full stop. Drivers who are surfing the internet while stopped may not notice that traffic has started to move again. A stopped vehicle in the midst of moving traffic has been the cause of numerous car accidents. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 5,500 people died and half a million were injured in accidents involving a distracted driver in 2009 alone. If a driver so desperately needs to access information from the internet, they should pull over and do so rather than trying to do it while driving and risking their own life and the lives of others.
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