Cell Phone Usage While Driving should be Illegal in all States Most drivers experience the urge of picking up the phone to text or to talk while driving on the road. But does the thought of other driver’s lives could be at risk? Driving while talking or texting on the phone is life threatening. States have to put a stop to cell phone usage in order for people to see the possible occurrences of unsafe driving. Some states have already put a stop to cell phones, but not every state. To prevent fatal accidents, all states should illegalize the usage of phones while driving. Some believe banning cell phones is not necessary. Roff from U.S. News responded, “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that in 2011 there were 3,000 fatal accidents resulting from ‘distracted driving,’ which could be anything from talking on a cell phone to eating to putting on make up to screaming at the kids for making too much noise to fiddling with the GPS system in heavy traffic. By putting the blame on a single technology rather than on the bad choices made by individual drivers, where it belongs, LaHood is missing the mark. (Roff).” Drivers make a decision to use the phone while driving, not the technology. From this statement, banning cell phones is ridiculous based on the fact that there are other distractions that can take the driver’s eyes off the road. There are so many ways drivers are distracted besides using a cell phone. People easily look at the stores or restaurants that are on the side of the road which throws off their attention to the road. Also, passengers in the car can disturb the driver from driving safely. Cell phones are not the only distractions to deter people from unsafely driving. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ones actually do. Simple mistakes happen such as taking one or both hands off the steering wheel or taking their eyes off the road just to look at the phone. In matter of seconds an accident could occur just for those simple mistakes that has a physical along with a visual effect. When using a cell phone while driving, there are lives at risk of getting into an accident. Illegalizing phones will prevent fatal accidents or serious injuries. Many drivers are distracted by phones whether receiving a call or text message. There are teenagers who are the leaders of driving while a cell phone. In addition, drivers are physically also visually affected by using a cell phone while driving. No one wants to get into accident, but to get to their destination safely. All states need to ban cell phone usage while driving to keep all drivers safe on the road.
Another negative effect that mobile phones impair is mental focus while driving. People who are driving have their minds on the task in front of them with their full attention on the road. So when a person is conversing on a phone their attention is split as he or she is trying to multi-task both talking and driving at the same time. An article written by Nathan Seppa, the cause of “split attention”, he noted that David Strayer a psychology professor and his team studied to understand what impairs drivers when they talk on the phone. They conducted an experiment with drivers to see the effects of how varies distractions compare to each other. Strayer’s team accompanied drivers and assign them different distractive tasks while they maintain their eyes on the road in order to assess the effects. In the team’s findings they found that one most distracting tasks was talking on a mobile phone, which caused a driver’s performance to decline significantly. The typical tasks that drivers should perform on a regular basis, such as observing traffic changes, looking in rear-view mirrors, and watching for pedestrians was reduced overall (Seppa). Not many people can multi-task a conversation and driving at the same time without some drawbacks. Another drawback to a person focus was “unintentional blindness”, described by Simons, as “looking at something and not seeing it” (Seppa). So a person who is talking on a phone can end up not seeing an object whether it is a car, a stop sign or a pedestrian that is right in front of him and her. Many experiments were conducted by professionals to understand how “unintentional blindness” can affect a person’s perception, but one notable professional, Simmons, conducted a test of this concept:
People are distracted enough as it is without have their cell phones attached to their ears while driving. The topic of using a cell phone while driving has been debated for many years, because there are two types of people with two different opinions. On one hand people have things that require their attention at all times, and on the other people cannot give their full attention to the road and fellow motorists if they are using their cell phone while driving.
According to Stephanie Hanes in the essay “Texting While Driving Is as Dangerous as Drunk Driving,” a driver on a phone and those talking on a phone are four times likely to crash. This statistic shows how dangerous using the phone or even texting is while driving. As technology has increased, so has the use of cellphone. Distracted driving has caused an increase in car fatalities and disasters. However, distracted driving can be prevented if drivers take precautions, but no matter what we do, trouble will always be spelling on the road.
One day Chandler Gerber 23, of Bluffton collided with an Amish buggy back in April of 2012. A three year old boy and a five year old girl were killed. A 17 year old boy who was in critical condition died several days later. Chandler was sending a text that said “ I love you” to his wife when he caused the accident. Drivers who were texting were 23.2 times more likely to crash to those who weren’t texting (Cell Phones and Texting). The increasing amount of crashes caused from texting and driving and growing and becoming more of a problem. Distracted driving is an increasing problem in the United States resulting in many accidents, but a solution to the problem would be banning cellphones while driving.
Texting and driving is a deadly issue in today 's generation. Using our cellphones while driving is a damaging habit among teens and adults. This habit caused many catastrophic accidents and deaths. Texting while driving has made the roads unsafe for other drivers. Many states recognize the immense threat resulting from texting and driving and have placed a ban on this epidemic. While many people realize texting and driving is hazardous others believe that the ban is useless and not strong enough of a solution.
David Hosansky states that the use of cell phones and texting should not be allowed while driving. The increased uses of cell phones and texting while driving has become the center of safety conversations. In fact, there are more than 5,000 deaths related to the use of cell phones and texting while driving over the last decade. Even if laws were put in place it is believed that motorists would still find it hard to put down their phones down. Hosansky also gave an example on the hazards of texting while driving, especially among young drivers. There are very few states that have implemented laws restricting the use of cell phones or texting while driving. David Hosansky is a freelance writer in the Denver area. This article seems to have been written for the general public and thought to be informative. I found this especially helpful and informative in finding this is not just a local problem.
A. People are constantly fixated on their phones, checking Twitter, Facebook, and text messages. The use of a cell phones while driving is extremely distracting and dangerous to the person behind the wheel, and everyone else on the road as well.
... driving is avoidable. Using cell phone while driving is very dangerous and life risking because drivers would be easily distracted. Using cell phone while driving is unnecessary, unless in emergency situations.
Some people argue that just as many car accidents would happen if the use of cell phones were not involved. According to Shows Cellphone Use, “Using a cellphone while driving may be distracting, but it does not lead to higher crash risks.” It is hard to miss the number of drivers with phones glued to their hands. As they dangerously multitask while driving around other vehicles and pedestrians. Those who decide to use their phones are simultaneously contributing to a lack of visual, manual, and cognitive attention a driver needs to remain focused (Injury Prevention, 2015). With the potential of crashing being 23 times greater than the risk posed by drunk driving (No Texting, 2015). With statistical information providing a connection between distracted drivers and increased accidents, it is hard to believe there are some who feel it is not
It is simpler said than done, since many will not do it. Increasing police presence on area roads can deter individuals from using the phone while driving. Fines being enforced for those that talk on cell phones while driving. If drivers are pulled over by police and they are ticketed then they will likely be discouraged from talking and driving at the same time. Intervention and education about the hazards of talking and driving can be a deterrent as well. Letting drivers know the risk of injury or even death behind the wheel can discourage drivers from using cell phones. Harsher penalties for those who previously got fined and didn 't follow the law the second time. “The penalty for violating the cell phone ban the first time is a $20 fine, while subsequent convictions are punishable by a $50 fine or more”(Burger, Daniel, and Yu 171). Simply putting your phone on speaker is still a distraction mentally. If one is visibly holding it, they are subject to a citation. If they put these laws into place, then that eliminates the drivers being distracted on the road, and it decreases the number of accidents. Alternatively, technology inside the cell phone can also help against the urge of talking while
First and foremost, the risk of using a phone while driving is a big chance of an accident more than what the people think. According to the Harvard study “Texting while driving and other forms of distracted driving are responsible for more than 1 million crashes, 400,000 injuries, and 3,000 deaths in the U.S. each year—and those numbers are likely to in...
The use of mobile phones while driving are a major destruction to the drivers, it is definitely no different from a mother trying to nurse a baby at the back sit. A good percentage of road accidents has been attributed to driver destruction. (David and William, 2001) There are evidence of cell phone related road carnages and this remains to be a concern. In 1999 a girl was killed by a driver when he got destructed by a phone, same case reported last year and even the death of a state corrections officer on North Carolina. However much drivers say they have a right to use their mobile phones, they should know of the destructions it causes when
Cell phones have been known to distract the driver from concentrating on the road. But should cell phone use while driving really be banned?
Also, there are cases when mobile phones use while driving becomes important. Such happens when people need to respond to emergencies. Mobile phones are primarily used for communication purposes. Mobile phone use while driving if banned might show that the government is impeding the right to communicate. The government just needs to ensure that mobile phone users are also responsible enough. This is done through rigorous dialogue and not those proposed legislations. For example, mobile phones is necessary if someone is chasing you in a car, then you might have to call the police. If there is an emergency, like someone was sent to the hospital, it would be nice to be able to receive that information, even if you are driving.
Cell phone use by motorist is dangerous and can cause accidents resulting in deaths and injuries. Furthermore, Nations and states should take the lead in outlawing this dangerous act. Prohibition of Cell phone use by motorists globally is the solution. Since a driver cannot concentrate fully on driving while making a phone call, he remains as impaired as someone who drives while intoxicated. In addition, imagine the risk one puts himself in when he is being driven by a drunk driver .This is the same risk that a motorist speaking on phone faces. If lawmakers are serious about addressing the increasing number of deaths related to motorists using cell phones. Hence, they should ban use of cell phone use by motorist.