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Cellular phones are one of the most widely and most popular forms of communication today. Though once considered rare luxuries, cellular telephones have become a commonplace possession over the last decade. Thanks in part to advances in wireless technology and immense public demand, cell phones have been made affordable to almost anyone wishing to pay for the phone and cellular service plans. Cell phones are so easily portable that it only makes sense that cell phones and automobiles will sometimes go together. With Americans using over 95 million cell phones, we notice the source of some of the accidents we see today. Does this mean we should ban the use of them all together or just change the way we go about using them?
An article published in Mercury News in 2003, state officials reported that they were able to discover what distracted drivers in 9,000 crashes, almost 18 percent of the accidents that resulted from driver inattention in 2001. Cell phone use was cited in 891 crashes, or nearly one in 10 incidents (Richards & Corcoran). All were phone-using drivers who had been involved in a collision. The study concluded, “Collision risk is four times greater if you
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established correlations between cell phone usage and accidents. Maine has banned minors and those who have a learners driving license from using a cell phone while driving. The most immediate way to reduce the risk associated with wireless phone use while driving is changing our individual behavior (Lee).
So why not meet in the middle somewhere and compromise, by doing something such as making it illegal to talk on a cellular phone while driving unless it a hands-free unit? Hands-free devices make it so that you have full use of your hands and you would not have to be digging for your phone every time it rings.
There is a lot of controversy going on right now and so far New York, Washington D. As for Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas, they have banned the use of cell phones by school bus drivers only. As for Missouri, there are no laws banning the use of cell phones by bus drivers or other drivers (Cellular News). By driving defensively, using phones responsibly and encouraging others to do the same, the number of drivers who are putting themselves and others at risk will decrease. However, even without an abundance of hard facts, legislators have found many people willing to testify as witnesses or
victims of accidents caused by phone-distracted drivers. “A 1999 study conducted by the Transportation Human Factors Journal, stated that the single most risky behavior is the conversation itself” (Lee). Talking on a cell phone while driving is no more dangerous that lighting a cigarette, operating the radio or dealing with children and I don’t think there is much chance of getting all of these things outlawed (Knowles). Cell phones are a cause of some of the accidents we see today, but does
it means we should ban the use of them all together, or just change the way we go about using them?
Dialing numbers, receiving calls and holding conversations on cell phones while driving eats away at the concentration required of motorists. In Delaware and New Hampshire, you can be prosecuted if you get into a motor vehicle accident while talking on a cell phone (Cellular News). The results of several online polls and surveys show that many people think talking while driving is no more or less distracting than any other activity, including other things such as a conversation with a passenger.
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