A Solution to Putting an End to Texting While Driving
Problem-Solution Speech Outline
By: Shelby Jolly, Kaitlyn Cassady, Yifan Guo, and Lee Hatchett
Part One: Overall Introduction (Shelby Jolly)
Introduction
I. Attention Catcher: Laws have been made to help reduce texting
and driving, but is that enough to stop people? A 2013 news
article from Citizen-Times.com states, “Investigators believe a
Candler woman killed when her car slammed into another vehicle
on Interstate 40 likely was distracted by using a cellphone”
(Morrison).
II. Listener Relevance Link: Just think of all the car accidents that
occur on the roads. People always assume that being intoxicated
with alcohol while driving is the most dangerous thing to do and
what causes majority of serious accidents. It is very dangerous,
but have you ever thought of texting and driving being just as bad?
III. Speaker Credibility: Through our research, we have found
solutions that are different than any other previously proposed
solution. It has effective reasons for why it is the best and it has
not been rejected like other possible solutions made in the past.
IV. Thesis Statement: Texting while driving needs to be reduced
because it is being overused, distracting drivers, and causing
deaths.
V. Preview: In this speech, I will inform you about the dangers of
texting while
driving and why my solution would be most effective.
VI. Transition: Most of us know that texting and driving is dangerous,
but we still continue to do it. Shelby will begin by introducing and
discussing the background of the issue and ending with our
proposed solution
Body
I.
First Main Point: The amount of Americans that use technology
while operating a vehicle is too high and it’s a dangerous issue that
needs to be reduced. Most people are aware that texting and
driving is dangerous, but they still continue to do it.
Listener Relevance: Parents are worried about their children having
a phone with them at school because they will always be on it. In that
same way, it consumes the lives of adults who are always on their
phone and causes them to be distracted when they need to focus on
tasks such as driving.
A. People are obsessed with technology and think have to be on
their phones 24-7, even while driving.
1. According to the article, The Dangers of Texting While
Driving,“Forty percent of all American teens say they
have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in
a way that put people in danger” (Federal
Communications Commission).
2. Morrison stats in his article, Cellphone Use Suspected In
Fatal Asheville Crash, “According to AAA, using a
cellphone while driving quadruples your risk of
crashing” (Morrison).
B. Using technology while driving causes distractions and allows
drivers to loose focus of what is taking place in front of them.
1. “…distracted driving is a contributing factor in nearly
8,000 crashed every day” (Morrison).
2. “Eleven percent of drivers aged 18 to 20 who were
involved in an automobile accident and survived
admitted they were sending or receiving texts when
they crashed” (Federal Communications Commission).
3. According to the Daily Editorials article, The Solution for
Texting While Driving, “At highway speeds, when you
take your eyes off the road for five seconds your car
travels more than 300 feet- unless you hit something
first” (Daily Editorals).
I. Second Main Point: People are not only seriously injured, but are
also killed because of texting while driving.
Listener Relevance: Yourself or a loved one can be involved in an
accident involving texting and driving in just the blink of an eye.
A. In 2010 driver distractions was the cause of 18 percent of
all fatal crashed- with 3,092 people killed- and crashes
resulting in an injury- with 416,000 people wounded (Federal
Communications Commison).
B. “After the car accident with the women who died, “Officers
found three phones, two of which were open” (Morrison).
C. Imagine the number of deaths from drinking and driving.
According to a simulation done at the University of Utah,
“legally intoxicated in all 50 states- have better reaction and
better braking times than sober drivers on a cell phone”
(Daily Editorials).
III. Third Main Point: The best solution to the problem of texting
while driving is to encourage the development of a device that is
designed to block phone service when the vehicle is started.
Listener Relevance: This will benefit everyone that drives a
car allow adults to set a good example for children so they
won’t grow up thinking texting and driving is normal.
A. Hamilton points out in her article, Tech Solutions To TextingWhile Driving that, public health experts came up with the
idea of the invention and it is designed to automatically switch
devices into drive-mode when the engine is started
(Hamilton).
1. The new invention will disable people from getting texts
while they are driving, so the distraction of the phone
will be eliminated.
2. The Cell Blocker would force people to pull off the road
and park in order to use a cell phone in the case of an
emergency (Daily Editorials).
3. Technology experts need develop this device for cars
so that it will eliminate cell phone usage the entire time
a car engine is running and the driver is operating the
car.
B. There are steps to how this solution can be implemented.
1. “It would be wired into the ignition system in such a
way as to disable the engine if it were disengaged”
(Daily Editorials).
2. Some people may refuse to use this device, just like they
hate wearing a seatbelt. But majority of Americans
should be in favor of this solution after reviewing all the
horrible accidents that have occurred from the problem
(Daily Editorials).
Conclusion
I. Summarize:
A. Using technology while driving not only puts yourself in
danger, but it also put the people in your car and others
driving on the road in danger. It can cause distractions,
which leads to serious injuries; it also sets bad examples for
those who aren’t old enough to drive yet.
B. Texting while driving is just as dangerous as drinking and
driving, if not worse. Lives are taken everyday due to fatal
car crashes and recently a main cause has been because a cell
phone was involved.
C. The invention of a new device designed to prevent the usage
of texting while driving is what America needs. It would
prevent drivers from texting while in a vehicle, which in
return will decrease the number of accidents caused from
cell phones. People need to be in support and not let the idea
of the invention fade.
II. Close with Impact: People are being seriously injured and even
killed in the U.S. due to texting while driving. Someone may not
realize this issue is a big deal until it is too late. As the future
leaders and U.S. citizens, we need to support the idea of an
invention designed to block cell phone service while operating a
vehicle. We need to make sure this problem gets solved.
III. Transition to next person: Now Kaitlyn will give you some
information on previously proposed solutions to the problem of
texting while driving. She will discuss their weaknesses and why
the solutions made were not a success.
Part two: Previously proposed solutions to solve the problem of texting
while driving (Kaitlyn Cassady)
Introduction:
I. Transition: As Shelby has just explained, texting and driving
presents a very dangerous and deadly problem.
II. So, as you can imagine, several alternative solutions have been
utilized to attempt to prevent accidents caused by texting while
driving. Some solutions previously used are public service
announcements, distracted driving summits, and legislative action.
Body:
I. First Main Point: Public Service announcements include the
commercials that air on television or advertisements seen in
magazines.
A. These usually portray an emotional testimony of a victim or
the loved one of a victim of a car accident due to texting while
driving, as well as dramatic images and language.
Listener Relevance: The aim of this solution is to make the public
aware of what consequences can come from choosing to text at the
wheel in hopes that this will make people refrain from cell phone use
when driving.
B. Drawbacks/Limitations: While these dramatic images and
testimonies usually make an impact on those who view them,
this doesn’t ensure that when tempted by an incoming call or
text while driving they will not check their phone.
1. Something that may make a person extremely sad and
determined to stop texting while driving at the time
they watch it will gradually fade from their mind and
their determination will not be so strong once in the
situation again.
II. Second Main Point: Distracted driving summits were first put into
place by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2009
(http://www.distraction.gov/).
A. Based on information from the website for distracted driving
created by the U.S. Department of Transportation, these
summits gave concerned citizens the chance to hear from a
panel of medical experts, transportation officials, and victims
about the problem of technology use while driving.
Listener Relevance: These summits were meant to create a
cooperative effort between advocates of preventing distracted driving
and concerned citizens to work on preventing the dangerous act.
B. Drawbacks/Limitations: Only those citizens who have a
strong desire to learn more about the dangers of distracted
driving will volunteer to come to these summits.
1. Most of the population will not take part in these events,
and therefore will not benefit from them.
2. Also, it is likely that those citizen who do choose to take
the time out of their day to attend these summits are
already concerned and more safe drivers, and therefore
not the segment of the population most in need of a
lecture in driving safety.
III. Third Main Point: Legislative action has been put in place in the past
in the form of laws banning handheld cellphone use or texting while
driving.
A. According to Governors Highway Safety Assoiciation, to date,
10 states ban any handheld cell phone use, while 39 states
ban texting while driving.
1. Of the states not included in this group, 6 ban text
messaging by “novice” drivers.
(http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_
laws.html).
Listener Relevance: Like any law that is passed, the aim of this action
was to keep citizens from putting their own lives and the lives of
others in danger by prohibiting using a phone while operating a
vehicle.
B. Drawbacks/Limitations: Even though laws are made to
prevent certain actions, we all know that they do not always
prevent people from doing these actions anyway.
1. Passing the law to ban texting while driving does not
actually prevent anything, it just makes the action a
little more of a personal risk to the participant.
2. Also, it is very hard for a law enforcement officer to
catch someone in the act of texting while driving,
because they usually can only catch a glimpse of the
driver as the car passes by them.
3. For this reason, the act most often goes undetected and
therefore few people actually face any consequences
due to choosing to text while driving.
4. This also makes it even less risky for the person to text
while they are driving, since the chances of them being
caught are low.
5. According to a HealthDay poll from November of 2011,
“over 1/3 of drivers (37%) have sent or received text
messages while driving, and 18% said they do it
regularly” (http://www.edgarsnyder.com/caraccident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html).
6. A study done by the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention in 2010 was reproduced in a graph by the
blog Blank-it.com, in which it showed the self-reported
texting or emailing while driving of drivers of different
ages (http://blog.blank-it.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/08/text-email-use-us2010.jpg). The study further shows that, even after laws
were passed banning texting while driving, some people
were still doing this action. The numbers in the chart
may be lower than the actual number of instances of
texting and driving that occurred because this was a self
reported study, so some drivers may have not wanted
to let on that they break the law as often as they actual
do.
Conclusion:
I. Clearly there have been strides taken to try and solve the
dangerous activity of texting while at the wheel.
II. While other efforts may have helped spread the word about the
negative consequences that can happen due to the activity, no
solution so far has been able to successfully and positively prevent
the public from texting while they are driving.
III. Transition: So, how is our solution to the problem any different?
Yifan will now explain the advantages to our solution and why it is
the best option.
Part 3: Advantages to Our Chosen Solution (Yifan Guo)
Introduction
Body
I.
I. The topic of our speech is the solution for texting while driving.
Kaitlyn have introduced the previous solutions.
II. Now I will first restate these alternative solutions briefly and then
come up with the best solutions we identified so far to solve this
problem and explain why it is successful.
First Main Point: People have tried many ways to solve this
problem including policy and education.
A. Fourteen states have laws against texting while driving.
1. But many drivers still have the habits that texting while
driving.
B. Data from the journal of American Medical Association
showed that from 2005 to 2009, while overall crash-related
fatalities dropped, deaths associated with driver distraction
increased by 22 percent. (Hamilton 2013)
C. The website distraction government also said that distracted
driving is a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways.
1. In 2010 alone, over 3000 people were killed in
distracted driving crashes. (Distraction.gov)
D. In the book, “texting and distracted driving”, statistics show
that more than 15 people are killed each day due to accidents
involving distracted drivers. (BetterBooks)
E. The danger of this behavior, in fact, is the distracted mind of
drivers.
1. Anything like cellphone signals that can distract the
drivers’ mind will cause the same problem. So we
cannot guarantee that every driver can avoid texting
while driving.
Listener Relevance: You might encounter the following situation.
When you are driving, someone may text you on your cellphone.
Even though you are a good driver and would not go to check it,
the ringing bell would weaken your concentration in some extent.
So this technique cellphone blocking will definitely eliminate the
danger of texting while driving.
II.
Second Main Point: From the article in St.louis, “The Solution For
Texting While Driving”, the author pointed out the best solution of
this problem is to install a cheap device in a car to block the
cellphone signals while the engine is running. (St. Louis)
A. The best solution is to require all drivers to install something
like Cell Blocker in their cars.
B. Anecdotal evidence suggests most drivers haven't changed
their habits-texting while driving. They do not have enough
awareness of the danger before this behavior. Even though
they have enough awareness, they could also text while they
are driving. The situation is similar with smoking. The
majority people know smoking do harm to our body. But
there are still tons of people smoking in the world.
C. The first advantage of this technique cellphone blocking is
that it eliminates the danger of texting while driving
completely. If the phone signal cannot exist in a running car,
we will not need to worry about this problem. Doctors Jeffery
Coben and Motao Zhu said: “Cell phone use while driving is a
problem that has been created by technology, and solving
this problem will require technological solutions.” (Hamilton
2013)
D. The second advantage is that it is not very expensive. The
device like the Cell Blocker is much cheaper compared to the
other devices such as CD players in a car.
E. The third advantage is that it is convenient and simple. It is
not like motors or other parts of the car. The government
could require all car companies and individuals to install a
cell blocker in their cars.
F. Other previous solutions that people have done are worse
than the technology cellphone blocking. As we can see from
what Dr.Coben and Dr. Zhu said, this problem is caused by
technology. So the only way to solve it completely is using
technology.
Conclusion:
I. This technology has many advantages over previous proposed
solutions. These advantages make it the best solution so far.
II. Transition: Now, Lee will give you conclusion. He will restate our
claim and make a call to actions.
Part 4: Overall Conclusion (Lee Hatchett)
Introduction
I. Sum it up: In conclusion we believe that the development of device
to block cell service while the car is started would be the best
solution to the problem.
II. Other solutions: Although there have been things put in place to
stop this such as laws, public service announcement, and summits;
we feel that not enough has been done.
III. Our solution: That is why we believe that the development of a
device to block cell service while the car is started would be the
best solution to the problem. This would completely eliminate
texting and driving when the car is started and in doing so would
make the roads a much safer place for everybody
Body:
I. First Main Point: Other Solutions
A.
Laws
1. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
text messaging is banned for all drivers in 39 states and
the District of Columbia.
B.
Distracted Driving Summits
C.
Public Service Announcements
II. Second Main Point: Why our solution is better
These solutions do not guarantee that texting and driving will not
happen. Our solution would guarantee that a person with this
device would not be able to text and drive.
III. Third Main Point: Facts
A.
According to the National Safety Council there is 1.6 million
accidents per year due to texting and driving.
B.
Also there are 11 teen deaths everyday as a result of texting
and driving according to the Institute for Highway Safety.
Conclusion:
I. Fourth Main Point: Call to Action
A. Call out cell phone producers and providers to take action.
B. Develop the device to block cell service
1. The creation of this device would make our world a
much safer and better place. It would put a stop to the
senseless fatal causalities and injuries that come as a
result of texting and driving. So will they answer the call
and put an end to this ever-growing problem? I really
hope so because it will make the roads a safer place for
everyone.