The Use of Cell Phones and Driving

The use of cellular phones has spread like wild fire in the last ten years. It has become a part of everyday life for many American citizens, and a good number of people depend on them to carry out daily operations. Unfortunately, many of these daily operations occur while the individual is driving. As a result, many accidents have taken place in the last ten years due to the use of cell phones while on the road. The leads me to believe that if people can’t concentrate on the road while talking or texting on a cell phone they shouldn’t have a cell phone near them at all while driving. I understand that restricting cell phone usage while driving all together isn’t the best means to solve the problem. Many good aspects come from cell phone use in a car. For example, accidents get reported to 911 rapidly, traffic updates occur more often because citizens call and report back ups, and drivers who need to be taken off of the road because of being intoxicated or just plain driving reckless will be located quicker and easier by the local police. Over the last five years, there has been an up rise in car accidents and the probable cause is the use of cell phones. At one point drunk driving was the biggest cause of car accidents but now cell phone users are at risk as well. With a larger police crackdown on drunk driving in affect the use of cell phones for texting and conversation is becoming the largest cause of accidents in the United States. In some states across America, a law was made to ban cell phones use all together while driving but only 39 out of the 50 states have put this into full affect. The probability of drivers talking or texting on their cell phones and getting into accidents is only getting higher. I feel the Government should ban cell phone use while driving in all states. In the past five years, cell phone use while driving has become the next biggest problem for the government to handle. Even though some government officials feel it is not causing that much of a problem. In a recent study done by Edgar Snyder & Associates, cell phone use in cars will have caused about 6,000 deaths and a half a million injuries are caused by distracted drivers every year. Teenagers on the other hand may not use a phone to talk but, to text one another. This study also says that teenagers spend about 10 % of the time outside the driving lane they’re supposed to be in. Talking or texting on a cell phone for a teenager while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year old due to inexperience and the brain not being fully developed just yet. One more fact given is that answering a text message while driving can distract any driver away from the road for about 5 seconds. In just that 5 seconds that is enough time to travel the length of a football field. The cell phone industry has very little defense against such accusations, with the exception of their great need during emergencies. The industry argues against the banning of all cell phones while driving. Tom Wheeler, president and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, the trade group for the cell phone industry, stands firm in his views that cell phones should not be banned. He states that “wireless phones are the greatest safety tools invented since the creation of 911 itself.” He backs this up by mentioning that, “a wireless phone out of all potential driver distractions is the only one that could possibly save your life or the life of another.” Though cell phones are useful in some cases of emergency, if necessary, you should pull over to text of make a phone call. Regardless while playing with the radio, car temperature, talking to the passenger, the driver is still distracted. The government has decided to put forth some effort in banning cell phone use while driving in some states and some states even enforce the rule all the way down to school bus drivers. The rule H.R. 1837 would direct the U.S. Transportation Secretary to withhold highway funds from States that do not comply with a law prohibiting the use of cell phones by individuals operating a motor vehicle. In particular, the Secretary shall withhold five percent of a state’s apportioned transportation funds for non-compliance, and increase to ten percent thereafter in the subsequent fiscal years. H.R. 1837 does make a few exceptions for the use of a cell phone while driving (1) in emergency situations; and (2) when using a “hands free” device while talking. Actions have been done and the police will be in full force to make sure drivers using cell phones in certain states will be punished. So next time you pick up that phone while driving, ask yourself “is is really that important?”

Work Cited http://www.iihs.org/laws/cellphonelaws.aspx http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats/ http://freebeacon.com/unlocking-regulatory-capture/

Cited: http://www.iihs.org/laws/cellphonelaws.aspx http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats/ http://freebeacon.com/unlocking-regulatory-capture/