Clariett 1

Because Texting and Driving Kills

General Purpose: To persuade
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to stop texting while driving
Thesis Statement: I will be discussing the problems of texting and driving, the solutions to stop
people from texting and driving, the visualization of life with and without the solution and the
actions we should take.
Introduction
I. Will you put yourself, your children and people around you in this situation? I wont.
II. My name is Thao Clariett. Ill be explaining why texting and driving kills.
III. Im in charge of this subject because I have done some research about texting and
driving.
IV. First, Ill discuss the problem of texting and driving. Second, Ill explain the solutions
to stop people from doing it. I also mention the visualization of life with and without
the solutions. Third, Ill share with you the actions we should take. Finally, I will do a
quick re-cap and answer any questions you might have.
(Transition)
Body
I. So lets face the problem begin with some statistic of texting and driving.
A. In 2012, at least 23% of auto collisions involved cell phones. Thats 1.3 million
crashes. And five seconds is the minimal amount of attention that a driver who
texts takes away from the road when theyre texting and driving? Imagine if
youre traveling at 55 mph, this equals driving the length of a football field
without looking at the road. Thats the reason why texting makes a crash up to 23
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times more likely. There is a big temptation for teens. According to the report,
13% of drivers age 18-20 involved in car wrecks admitted to text or talk on their
phone at the time of the crash. Report also said that 82% of Americans age 16-17
own cell phones, 34% say they have texted while driving. But adults do it, too!
According to 77% of teens, adults tell them not to text or email while driving, yet
adults do it themselves all the time. According to the report, 27% of adults have
sent and received text message while driving and 40% of teens say that they have
been in a car when the driver used a cell phone.
B. Therere laws that dealing with people who text and drive. As you can see on the
map. Dark grey represent 40 states prohibit all drivers from text messaging. Dark
blue represent 3 states prohibit novice and bus driver from text messaging. Light
blue represent 2 states prohibit novice driver from text messaging and light grey
represent 5 states have no current bans. The problem is that people still texting
while driving anyway.
Herere some solutions.
II. We need to stop people from texting and driving. But how?
A. First of all, we need to support a new cell phone distracted driving legislation
which is increase the fine. Take away the phone if you got caught for second time
and tow the car for a month if people got caught for the third time.
B. Second option is using technology. For those whore using smartphone, especially
for Apple user, Apple is working on the new project called driver handheld
computing device lock-out", which suggests ways to prevent people from texting
while driving. Hopefully the new IOS system will have this lock-out.
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C. Here are some objections
- Some people said that they are confident that they can safely text while driving
and they dont want to pay a lot for a texting ticket
- They got bored being in traffic jam.
III. But, lets visualize together.
A. Herere life with the solutions
- Eventually, texting while driving will decrease. Therefore, accident will decrease.
- People will be happier on the road because they wont be pissed by people who
got distracted by texting while driving.
B. And life without the solutions
- Texting and driving will continue taking away life.
- Car insurance company will make a lot more money because people will highly
get a texting ticket or get into an accident.
- There will be more traffic because people who texting while driving will reduce
their speed or get into an accident for not paying attention to the road.
So what action that we can take?
IV. Propose an ACTION
A. While waiting for a new legislation, we need to be on a Million Pledge Mission -
to get 1,000,000 drivers to commit to be a no texting driver and make the roads
safer for all of us. You can make a difference today by signing the text-free
driving pledge and getting your friends and family to do the same. This is a form
that you can find at the website http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/text-
free-driving-pledge.
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B. There is also an app called SafeTexting R can be downloaded from the Apple App
Store and SafeTexting AR+ can be downloaded from the Google Play and
BlackBerry AppWorld for $1.99. While you are driving, if someone sends you a
text message, the app automatically replies to the sender letting them know that
you are currently driving. So you don't have to worry about responding to that text
until you get to your destination.
In Conclusion
I. Ive discussed the problems of texting and driving, the solutions to stop people from
texting and driving, the visualization of life with and without the solution and the
actions we should take.
II. To answer for the question: Will you put yourself, your children and people around
you in this situation? My answer is: No, I wont.

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References
11 facts about texting and driving. (2014) Retrieved from https://www.dosomething.org/
tipsandtools/11-facts-about-texting-while-driving
Jackson, T. (2011, November 23). Don't text and drive. N.Y. New York. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform.
John, N. (2014, April 23). Texting and driving accidents could end soon: Apple's latest device
locks out phone use for motorists. Retrieved from http://www.hngn.com/articles/
29522/20140423/ texting-and-driving-accidents-could-end-soon-apples-latest-device-
locks-out-phone-use-for-motorists.htm
New approaches to end texting while driving. (2013). Professional Safety, 58(9), 16
Pickrell, M., & Ye, J. (2013, March). Driver electronic device use in 2011. Washington, DC:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The dangers of texting while driving. (2014) Retrieved from http://www.fcc.gov/guides/texting-
while-driving