Public Health Issue-Texting while Driving

The description of an underrecognized issue in public health is the mental addiction of texting while driving. This is especially true among youngsters. This is a public health concern that requires recognition and increased awareness. Many research surveys have shown negative effects of texting while driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (2012), driver interruption was the leading cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes – with 3,328 people died – and crashes causing in an injury – with 421,000 people wounded (Federal Communications Commission, n.d.). This, in a nutshell, means public and private agencies have to put more emphasis on the aspects and safety needs of drivers. It is the first time the question was asked in a teen poll on risky behavior, and the finding was explored amid a renewed federal crackdown on distracted driving (Stobbe, 2012). Analyzing the issue of teens’ addiction to texting while driving is another way of finding strategy that might allow recognition in a public health field. Public health problems have existed for thousands of years. For those interested in investigating and finding effective solutions to these problems, the decades since the mid-20th century have seen an unprecedented growth in the use of theory to bolster the relationship between research and practice. Community Health Education Theory (CHET) can guide in explaining the reasons why young adults mostly text while driving. It is also a theory-driven process that encourages preventive health measures within the population group. Additional strategy that can be used to tackle the issue of texting while driving is the concept of collaborative efforts. Working together for sustainable development in a diverse and complex region means finding a way to let in all of the many different voices of our citizenry. Public health professionals can do better by developing community-based programs to educate young people about the high risk of texting while driving. Despite the absence of national law banning texting while driving, a handful of states have attempted to initiate some provisions of such kind (Federal Communications Commission, n.d.). At the same time, schools can implement programs and other education training that allow for the prevention and cessation of texting while driving (Tan, Rosemary, Wahid,  Gohl, 2014).

In the article, Quisenberry (2015) was using the general theory of crime to help explain how research findings have demonstrated increased danger and public health problem of texting while driving. The author was implying how there has been media attention devoted recently to the topic of distracted driving, and texting while driving but nothing was done yet.  Additionally, the author seeks to present a new and comprehensive statement of what the criminological innovativeness should be concerning texting while driving. He insisted on how the theory could argue that prevalent academic criminology—whether sociological, psychological, biological, or economic—has been unable to provide believable explanations of criminal behavior. (Quisenberry, 2015). However, recent scholars and the Federal Department of Transportation (FDT) have been unrelenting to show the impacts of texting while driving. The article presented the notion and support of the general theory of crime. It further disclosed that among college students, mostly young adults, higher self-control seemed to knowingly contribute to the decreases in the amount of texting while driving. Therefore, I am in support of the use of self-control approach in decreasing the scope of texting while driving. But the question remains how?

Tan, N. C., Ng, C. J., Rosemary, M., Wahid, K., & Goh, L. G. (2014). Developing a primary care research agenda through collaborative efforts – a proposed “6E” model.

Federal Communications Commission. (n.d.). The Dangers of Texting While Driving. Retrieved from https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/dangers-texting-while-driving

Quisenberry, P. N. (2015). Texting and driving: Can it be explained by the general theory of crime? American Journal of Criminal Justice: AJCJ, 40(2), 303-316. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9249-3

Stobbe, M. (2012, Jun 08). The survey finds older teens often text while driving. Journal – Gazette. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1019342705?accountid=14872