7A Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

1. Drunk or distracted driving has been an issue for a long time, but with the increasing popularity of cellphones, distracted driving in the form of texting while driving is increasing.

2. The Who: People of all ages that have motor vehicles.

The What: They are driving drunk or distracted.

The Why: People are sometimes careless and are not considerate of how their actions affect other people.

3. People not included in the who that are related to this issue are those who do not personally drive but have been affected by someone driving drunk or distracted. For example, people who have been personally involved in an accident or has lost someone close to them because of this type of accident.


Ryan Jungels, 22 years old

1. How great of a problem do you think drunk or distracted driving is from 1-10 (1 being not a problem, 10 being a great problem)

- In terms of how severe the problem is when it is occurring, I say 10. This action can cost the lives of not only the people committing the action, but also innocent people who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

2. Have you ever driven drunk or distracted? If so, why?

- I have driven distracted before. I do not do it frequently but when I was a little bit younger, I used my phone sometimes to reply to text messages when I drove. I did this probably because I didn’t understand the dangers or because it was a time sensitive matter.

3. Do you know anyone else who has driven drunk or distracted, or been affected by this driving?

- I know a lot of people who do this, yes. As a recent college graduate, I am familiar with the culture of college campuses and how frequently young adults are drinking. I have heard of many people who leave the bar and drive themselves home instead of calling an Uber or other ride because they do not want to have to pay for it. I’m not sure if they still do this, but the 50% off Uber rides from 9 pm – 3 am they used to have were a great idea to help combat this.

4. Why do you think people drive distracted?

- Like I mentioned earlier about drunk driving, I think it is partially because they don’t want to pay for a ride or potentially bother someone else by asking for a ride home. As far as texting and driving, as I admitted, sometimes people think their communications are more important than driving to the next destination unscathed.


Tina Jungels, 60 years old

1. How great of a problem do you think drunk or distracted driving is from 1-10 (1 being not a problem, 10 being a great problem)

- Definitely a 10. I get very scared thinking about people texting and driving and drinking and driving is even worse. With four children (who are now adults), I have to constantly emphasize to them how important it is to not drive after they are drinking, even if they do not think they have been drinking that much.

2. Have you ever driven drunk or distracted? If so, why?

- As far as drinking and driving, I don’t think I have, but if so it would have been sometime in my 20’s when the dangers of drinking and driving were not so prevalent as they are today. I do not use a cell phone ever while I drive.

3. Do you know anyone else who has driven drunk or distracted, or been affected by this driving?
- I hear stories of many young people these days using their phones while they are driving. Within the last year or so I read in the newspaper that a high school student was texting and driving and accidentally hit and killed a 90-year-old man outside of his assisted living facility. Things like this are so tragic and could be avoided so easily.

4. Why do you think people drive distracted?

- I think for the most part, distracted driving is something that young people do. Drinking and driving could be people of any age. This happens because people think that they will never be the one who gets in a crash because of this behavior.


Page Pannill, 20 years old

1. How great of a problem do you think drunk or distracted driving is from 1-10 (1 being not a problem, 10 being a great problem)

- I would say it is about a 5. I know there are a lot of people who do these things, but I would argue that not the majority of people who have a vehicle participate in this behavior.

2. Have you ever driven drunk or distracted? If so, why?

- I have yes, when I was in high school. In high school in the city I am from, it was very rare to use uber. After going to college in Orlando, I was surprised to see how many college students do in fact use uber, basically everyone if they do not have a designated driver to remain sober for the entirety of their event.

3. Do you know anyone else who has driven drunk or distracted, or been affected by this driving?

- I know a lot of people from my hometown that have driven drunk after they go to local bards.

4. Why do you think people drive distracted?

- The main people I notice doing this in my hometown are the ones who never went to a big college town. If they had, I think they would see the prevalence and importance of using uber. I also think that they drive drunk after going out locally because they are comfortable with the very familiar roads and the short drive.


Sarah Mattson, 20 years old

1. How great of a problem do you think drunk or distracted driving is from 1-10 (1 being not a problem, 10 being a great problem)

- I give distracted or drunk driving an 8/10

2. Have you ever driven drunk or distracted? If so, why?

- I have used my cell phone while driving, although I do understand it is certainly not good behavior. I use it to answer if my parents are texting or calling me because I don’t want them to be worried that I don’t answer. That seems pretty ironic though because it is endangering my safety and the safety of others to text while I drive.

3. Do you know anyone else who has driven drunk or distracted, or been affected by this driving?

- Yes, I was in a car accident in high school when my friend was driving drunk. I was not drunk and offered to drive, but she declined and since she didn’t seem drunk, I let her do it. Within the first three minutes of the ride she drove right off the road and smashed into a tree. Luckily, we were both unharmed, but I emphasize the luck part.

4. Why do you think people drive distracted?

- I don’t really know why they do. I can’t explain why I pick up the phone when I hear a text message come in even when I know I’m driving. I know the dangers, so I guess it is just due to a lapse in judgement.


Ashley Jungels, 24 years old

1. How great of a problem do you think drunk or distracted driving is from 1-10 (1 being not a problem, 10 being a great problem)

- 10

2. Have you ever driven drunk or distracted? If so, why?

- When I was say, 16-18 I probably did a few times, yes. When you are in high school and it seems like everyone is doing it, sometimes you don’t think about the dangers or hurting other people.

3. Do you know anyone else who has driven drunk or distracted, or been affected by this driving?

- I certainly know other people who have driven drunk, yes. Even at 24 years old, I know people who used to drink and drive in high school that still do.

4. Why do you think people drive distracted?

- They think their own messages are the most important thing in that moment, or they think their time/money that would be spent on a cab or an uber would be wasted since they could just drive themselves home. I certainly think there needs to be greater emphasis on safe driving, and as I just became a mother I worry when I think about how prevalent of an issue this is.



Many of these interviews were interesting, and a lot of people had different stories to tell. It seems that everyone ranks the problem pretty severe on a scale from 1-10, although one person did make a good point that the majority of people are not drinking or texting while they drive. I find it alarming that most people admitted to driving drunk or distracted at some point in their lives, and even if they didn’t they said they know someone who has or has been affected. I found a common trend that people suggest they did these actions or other people did these actions when they were younger, such as high school level. This leads me to believe that emphasis on changing the ways of younger people will help solve this problem.