Argument Organizer

Choose one of the following questions to answer for the argument essay in this module.

Does our state do enough to prevent distracted driving?

OR

Can a Public Service Announcement (PSA) help reduce the number of distracted driving incidents?

Part One

  1. Write the claim you will present in your argument essay.

Does our state do enough to prevent distracted driving?

  1. Write the counterclaim that you will refute in your argument essay.

Teens and distractive driving.

Part Two

Identify research sources that you will use in your argument essay. Include at least two primary sources and at least two secondary sources. Use MLA citations to document your sources here. An example has been provided.

Example: "What Is Distracted Driving?" Distraction.gov, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2014.

1. Governors Highway Safety Association."Distracted Driving Laws." State Distracted Driving Driving Laws. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices., Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.

2. NHTSA. "Distracted Driving | State Laws | Texting and Driving." Distracted Driving | State Laws | Texting and Driving. U.S. Department of Transportation, June-July 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.

  1. David Klugh. "Is It Time for South Carolina to Pass a Distracted Driving Law? - WMBFNews.com, Myrtle Beach/Florence SC, Weather." Is It Time for South Florida to Pass a Distracted Driving Law? - WMBFNews.com, Myrtle Beach/Florence SC, Weather. WMBF News, 27 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

4. National Conference of State Legislatures. "Cellular Phone Use and Texting While Driving Laws."Cellular Phone Use and Texting While Driving Laws. National Conference of State Legislatures, 1 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.

Part Three

Submit the introductory paragraph of seven to 10 sentences. Be sure to include your claim and briefly mention the counterclaim.

Distracted driving isn't only teens but it is adults as well. In the state of South Carolina there is no ban or law keeping anyone from texting and driving. They tried before for a bill with texting and driving and if convicted they would face up to $250 or to 30 days in jail. This bill didn't last very long and today texting and driving has caused more wrecks. There should be a law for this because more and more innocent people are losing their lives over someone whom is texting and driving. If we had this law it would help our rates come down and South Carolina would have safer roads.

Part Four

Submit the body paragraphs. You must write a multi-paragraph essay, with no fewer than two body paragraphs.

Distracted driving isn't only teens but it is adults as well. In the state of South Carolina there is no ban or law keeping anyone from texting and driving. They tried before for a bill with texting and driving and if convicted they would face up to $250 or to 30 days in jail. This bill didn't last very long and today texting and driving has caused more wrecks. There should be a law for this because more and more innocent people are losing their lives over someone whom is texting and driving. If we had this law it would help our rates come down and South Carolina would have safer roads. Obviously South Carolina does need some type of law to be passed for distracted driving from the statistics of having 995 wrecks in 2009. Leading to this has been from more and more teen drivers texting and driving of which needs to be fixed. Some thirty-six percent of teens say they have been involved in a crash or near-crash because of someone else's or their own distracted driving. This is saying that teens do realize that there is distracted driving but sometimes it doesn't affect them. The effect of texting and driving is involved with distracted driving and most of the incidents reported from that thirty-six percent are associated with phones. As well as a eighty-five percent with saying that texting while driving is a problem but a habit. That habit is hard to break because those involved feel that if they haven't been in a wreck yet then it won't happen. But back to that number of 995 wrecks is showing that those that feel that way have been proven wrong. In the County of Newberry, SC a Newberry council member, Louis Neiger lost his son to a driver whom was on the phone. Since South Carolina doesn't have a law stating that it isn't illegal he took it to his council and suggested that this issue be presented as a bill for the county. This actually brought Newberry to enforce the bill against texting and driving (distracted driving). He also presented that there is no point system for licenses for distracted driving but only for reckless driving. For reckless driving you can lose up to 6 points and Neiger made it pretty clear that it is the same as distracted driving. His case is a perfect example of how people are trying to change the system of things that affect the daily lives of others. South Carolina is also in the top twenty percent of injury crashes in 2009 involving distracted driving. (2009 NHTSA) Since then SC has been number 2 of the whole U.S. for bad driving. These statistics are proving that there is an issue and there is a needed solution or consequence. Texting and driving has become more popular with all of the new technology coming of the day but there is a solution but it isn't being presented in the state of South Carolina.

God Bless. 