drunk drivers

Cell phones are an innocent object that is in our day to day life but people don’t realize how deadly they can be. According to the National Safety Council, “estimates that at least 1.6 million crashes each year involving drivers using cell phones and texting.” (http://www.nsc.org) Innocent People could get hurt or killed because of drivers using cell phones. People can stop these unnecessary accidents by not using their cell phones while driving. Drivers’ use of cell phones while vehicles are in motion should be prohibited because it could be a hazardous distraction in addition they could get in an accident.
The use of cell phone while driving is a hazardous distraction. Drivers making a phone call were four times as likely to cause an accident as other drivers. In 2004 a 20 year-old woman ran a red light and slammed into the passenger side of of a car, killing a young boy. A witneses reported seeing her on the phone and looking straight out the front window. ,“She was looking, but she didn’t see the red light or realize that she should have stopped,” said another witness. If the driver using the cell phone stopped at the red light the little boy would still be alive today. Another sad story that occored in 2008 a 18 year-old driver was texting when he ran through a red light. That was when a semi-tractor trailer swerved to avoid hitting his car. “Instead of hitting the negligent driver, the rig plowed directly into the vehicle carrying Jacy Good and her parents, Jean and Jay Good.”( http://auto.howstuffworks.com) Her parents were killed instantly and she was critically injured. People using cell phones are as impared as a drunk driver with the intoxication level of 0.08! Another interesting fact is if someone is travaling at an average speed of 55 mph and looking at a text then they have traveled the distance of a football field with out looking at the road!
Another reason why cell phones should be prohibited while driving is because they could cause an accident. Every day, driving while using a cell phone kills more than 15 people and injures more than 1,200! “In 2011 23% of all accidents involved cell phones.”( http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com)California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington have put a ban on handheld cell phones while driving. If all 50 states put a ban on cell phone use while driving the number of accidents would decrease dramatically. Driving while using a cell phone is a stupid way for an accident to happen and have the chance to kill themselves or someone else. There is a story where a high school student was texting and driving and he killed a biker. Another story is about a 16 year-old was killed in a texting while driving accident. “Ashley Johnson was on her way to work in Asheville when she took her eyes off the road, crossed the center lane and hit a pick up truck head on.”(http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=91456) She still could have been alive today if she didn’t answer that text. Finally there are more accidents caused by teens than any other age group. The number one reason for teen accidents is cell phone usage.According to a 2005 study from the University of Utah, suggests that when teenagers and young adults talk on cell phones while driving, their reaction times are as slow as those of elderly drivers. Drivers’ use of cell phones while driving should be prohibited because it is a hazardous distraction and people could get into an accident. People can answer their texts or call the caller back when the driver has gotten to their destination. With the advancement in technology it is becoming more and more of a distraction for drivers. Laws need to be put in place to prohibit cell phone usage while driving. Putting a law on driving while using a cell phone will not only save lives but it will teach the next generation of drivers to be safer on the road.