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  • Essay / The tragedy of texting while driving

    In recent years, more and more car accidents have occurred because of texting while driving. In Laurie Roberts' article, "Is Arizona (Finally) Ready to Ban Texting While Driving," she discusses the fact that Arizona is one of the last states without taken further action regarding texting while driving. Roberts addresses Arizona state government, asking if it will take a tragedy like Texas to ban phone use on the road. Roberts effectively uses stories of how innocent lives were ruined, along with statistical information, to engage his readers and open their eyes to the dangers of being reckless and oblivious to their surroundings (Roberts, 2018). In “Is Arizona (Finally) Ready to Ban Texting While Driving,” Roberts first discusses Texas and how it took thirteen people to die for their government to pass the ban. A young van driver swerved into the other lane while on the phone, hitting a church bus filled with fourteen people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay. Roberts then shares stories of people in Arizona who got into accidents because of their phones and only received a speeding ticket when they could have fatally injured someone. DPS Officer Tim Huffman was even killed by a text message while sitting in his car writing a report. Roberts ends the article by discussing how a texting law could save innocent lives and hold people accountable for their own actions (Roberts, 2018). Laurie Roberts uses ethos in her article when talking about incidents occurring on the road because of cell phones, but she is not the only one who has addressed this issue. Former President Obama once said that "texting causes drivers to take their eyes off the road and at least one hand off the wheel, endangering themselves and others," when he issued an executive order banning federal employees from texting while driving government vehicles. , (Poorbaugh, 2014). Roberts also clearly uses emotional examples in his article, such as talking about how Officer Huffman was killed. Another example is when Anthony Arminio was hit by William Van Camp while texting while driving. Arminio survived but with broken legs, pelvis, hip and bleeding on the brain, causing him to be hospitalized for three years and have more than $400,000 in hospital bills. His father suffered a broken neck as a result of the accident, and both say they still suffer from intense pain today. Their lives were virtually ruined and Camp got away with only a nine-month prison sentence (Poorbaugh, 2014). The only thing Roberts is missing is the logistics of his argument for Arizona to adopt a ban on texting while driving. According to Michael Poorbaugh, 43% of college students have openly admitted to texting while driving, causing an estimated 3,000 teen deaths and 300,000 injuries per year (Poorbaugh, 2014). References Poorbaugh, M. (May 29, 2014). Don't text or drive.