Many of us have witnessed drivers dialing and talking on cell phones, resembling drunk drivers swerving all over the roads. Strong regulations are needed because drivers using phones are seriously impaired and because laws on negligent and reckless driving are not sufficient to punish these driving talkers. Laws on traffic safety vary from state to state, and drivers distracted by cell phones can get off with light punishment even when they cause fatal accidents. Running red lights, failing to stop for a school bus and drunk driving are just a few examples. An increasing number of studies show that driving while talking on a cellphone can be dangerously distracting.
I would consider adopting the new law of cell phone use being banned while operating a motor vehicle. I say this because of all the accidents that have occurred with teens and even elder people talking on the phone while driving. Also, because cell phones can be a distraction, even when the cell phone is not in use. There are many reasons why cell phones usage should be banned while driving I will only state a few but at the end of my essay you will understand my reasoning. Cell phone usage while driving is a very touchy subject.
Putting not only their lives in danger, but oncoming traffic as well that may be carrying valuable contents like children in the vehicle. According to AAA foundations for traffic safety there are the following facts about distracted driving. Drivers spend more than half their time behind the wheel engaged in distracted behavior. More than 8,000 crashes a day are caused by distracted driving, the use of a cell phone while driving quadruples the risk of an accident occurring. 87% of drivers (including myself), agree with laws put into place against reading, typing, or texting while driving behind the wheel.
Even those Bluetooth headsets raise the potential risk of an accident. Even though a person’s hands may be free of the cellular device, he or she is still being distracted by the conversation. Cell phone usage while driving causes 2,500 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year. People who drive while talking on a cell phone raise the risk of an accident or death. Recent studies show that a person driving while talking on a cell phone has less awareness of the road than a person who is driving drunk.
For example, some people don’t have car and medical insurance when they get into serious car accidents. This can make a person very stressful and need to pay the debts for a long time. These problems can lead a person to suicide. In addition, teenagers and adults should be careful on using cell phones while driving. If they are careful with it, car accidents will decrease and there will be no financial problems.
About 1.6 million car crashes every year are a result in talking on the phone or texting; if a driver takes their eyes off the road for two seconds, it can double their chance of being involved in a crash (Jackson, Nancy mann). Many people think that talking on a hand-held or a hands-free cell phone is no different from talking with a passenger. When talking with a passenger, the passenger tends to pause when the driver needs to concentrate on the road, but when talking on a phone, the person over the phone is not aware of what the driver is doing (Jackson, Nancy Mann). Since there has been many accidents and
It is believed that actively using a cell phone while driving increases the likelihood of an accident by as much as four times the rate as those who do not use a cell phone. Drivers are paying less attention to the other vehicles and pedestrians around them thereby endangering not only their lives but also the lives of those individuals caught in their path. As such the use of a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle should be restricted. Legislation needs to be passed which would help curb the widespread use of cell phones in vehicles. To date legislators have won the fight to protect our children from such negligent individuals who choose to endanger their lives and the lives of other around them; however further action needs to be taken.
Because of the increased number of traffic accidents caused by cell phones, I believe cell phone use should be banned while driving automobiles. Using a cell phone while driving is not only a major distraction, but it can be extremely dangerous or even fatal. In a recent study done by Strayer and Johnson, they found that “cell-phone conversations made drivers more likely to miss traffic signals and react more slowly to the signals that they did detect” (Strayer and Drews 128). Awareness of one’s surroundings is vital in safe operation of an automobile. When a driver is talking on a cell phone, the phone conversation “disrupts performance by diverting attention from the external environment associated with the driving task to an engaging context associated with the cell-phone conversation” (Strayer and Drews 129).
Do you like talking on a cell phone while driving? Have you ever considered that talking on the phone while driving raises the risk of crashes? In years past when people innovate cell phone technology, people start use it while they're driving. Despite, there are no doubt about using cell phones while driving contributes to accidents; but, people don't care about this problem. They keep use it while they driving; even though they have known the numerous affects of using it in car.
In Road Rage, Ferguson points out that in a recent survey that the Coalition for Consumer Health and Safety did, 64% of the people mentioned that they are driving less mannerly and more recklessly than they did about five years ago (553). We all know that road rage can be cause due to many reasons like stress at work and problems at home. Ferguson also points out that road rage could be solve if we had more police and tougher punishments (556), but we all know that won’t really help. I don’t even think that therapy for those road rage individuals would help. We all just have to pray every time we get into a car and just have patience.