Technology is such a present
distraction in today’s society and the majority of people seem to be obsessed
with it. It seems that one cannot go anywhere today with out hearing someone
talking on the phone at a restaurant or texting and not paying attention to
where they are going. Although the advances in technology are outstanding, they
have taken a toll on many peoples lives. One of the main problems with one of technology’s
greatest inventions: the cell phone, is that many people try to use it while
driving, whether it be talking on the phone, texting, or checking one of their
many social networking profiles. Every one is guilty of this from time to time
even though they know what the potential consequences could be. However,
through my experiences it has shown that many of these people are sure that the
use of a phone while driving will not affect them because they are great at
multi tasking. There are countless excuses to why people think it acceptable
to use a cell phone while driving, however, it is my strong opinion that cell
phones should not be used while operating a motor vehicle.
There have been countless stories
through out the years that have surfaced about fatal car accidents that have
caused people their lives due to cell phone use while driving. One story I find
incredibly heart wrenching is that of a girl named Taylor Sauer. She was a
recent high school graduate with a grade point average of 3.9 and was now
attending Utah State University (Inbar). The story goes that she was making a four-hour
drive home from the University to visit her parents, however, she was texting
while driving (Inbar). This proved to be fatal. The young girl knew this was
not safe; her last message to her friend being “I can’t discuss this now.
Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha” (Inbar). Soon after that her car,
which was going a steady 80 miles per hour, hit a tanker truck that was going
up a hill at only 15 miles per hour (Inbar). This is the story of a girl only
18 years of age; she was just as old as many of us when she lost her life due
to a message that could have waited. The story of the intelligent Taylor Sauer
is one that should be told both in memory and in an effort to make every one
aware of the devastating consequences of phone use while driving.
Cell phones kill. Phone use while
driving endangers not only the life of the person using it, but any passengers
they may have and the other people on the road as well. A prime example of this
is the story previously stated. From a young age children are using technology,
therefore, by the time they are able to drive it is a natural instinct to
answer a phone call or text; no on ever thinks twice about the consequences of
looking down at that phone for those two seconds it takes to answer. On January
5, 2013 the West Bridgewater Police Department conducted a “texting while
driving sting.” Between the hours of 12 and four pm police officers were told
to focus primarily on people who were texting and driving (Graeber). The
results were shocking, with 51 stops for texting (Graeber). The people who were
stopped ranged from ages 16 to 40 with 36 percent being women and the remaining
men (Graeber). This is evidence that phone use while driving is not just
happening among the younger generation. While there are laws in Massachusetts
against texting and driving and even talking on a cell phone for people under
the age of 18, not every state has these laws. In the United States there are
39 states that have banned texting while driving and 10 states have banned
talking on a hand held phone while driving (Insurance Institute of Highway
Safety). Although this sounds like a large number, there are still six states
that have no laws at all and five states that only have partial bans on cell
phone use in a car (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety). All states need to
become more aware of the dangers of using a cell phone while driving and set
laws in place against it because the affects can be deadly.
Fig.
1. This advertisement illustrates the true dangers of texting while driving
through the image of a body in a morgue with a cell phone that reads, “wanna
chill later?” (
Cell phones are a convenience, not a
necessity. Every where we go we see someone on a cell phone; either talking on
it, texting, playing games, watching movies, or using one of the many social
networking sites. Today there are a countless number of things that one can do
with one of the highly intelligent hand held devices. Among everything that one
can do with a cell phone, the last thing one should be doing is using it while
operating a motor vehicle. Although many people are guilty of doing this, it is
“Generation Y” that is highly at fault. Generation Y consists of people born
around the eighties. These are people who started to grow up with technology,
with cell phones, computers, and televisions. Growing up with all of these
technological advances over the years has made us feel as though they are
crucial to our every day lives. However, cell phones, computers, and
televisions are not necessities! It appears that with cell phones in particular
there is an addiction. According to an article from the “Leadership Journal,” the
term for someone with a cell phone addiction is “nomophobia” (leadership
Journal). It was stated that 66 percent of people fear losing or being without their
cell phones (Leadership Journal). Just like anything else that is harmful to
ones health or addictive; drugs, alcohol, tanning, cell phones are as well. Therefore,
one of the main causes of deadly car crashes each year is the cell phones that
humans have become so reliant on and so addicted to.
Cell phone use while driving is an
immense distraction. There are numerous ways in which people driving a car are distracted
by using a cell phone. It seems as though wherever we are, if a cell phone
rings our attention is immediately diverted. Whenever someone takes his or her
eyes off the road to answer a call, answer a text, update a status, or even
check the time it is a distraction. Distraction.gov states that: “Sending or receiving
a text takes a drivers eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the
equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind”
(VTTI). This is a perfect example of just how much of a distraction cell phones
are in a car. When it comes to talking on the phone while driving many people
have one hand on the wheel and the other on the phone holding it to the ear,
which clearly displays a risk factor. Not only that, but when someone is having
a conversation they are not fully engaged in what is happening on the road.
There may be sounds such as the honk of a horn or siren from an ambulance that
they may not notice as a result of the attention being on the conversation. Also
according to Distraction.gov, “Driving while using a cell phone reduces the
amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%” (Mellon). At a young
age teenagers are able to receive their license and along with inexperience
comes distraction. In an article called “WR U txting b4 U crashed?” the authors
explain that 426 college freshman completed a survey and 73 percent reported
that they text while driving (Buchanan). This is an extremely large number,
however, this was not the most shocking part. 92 percent of the students
reported that they believe texting affects their concentration while driving,
yet they still continue to do it (Buchanan). This is a prime example of how
even though people know that using a cell phone while driving is a distraction
they continue to do it anyways.
Fig.
2. This image shows just how distracting texting while driving can be by making
a point through putting the words on the windshield of the car which one can
not see through (Still Ad).
Although many believe that using a
cell phone while driving is not a good idea, many also believe that it is not
only manageable but acceptable as well. Many people believe that using a cell
phone while driving is just the same as holding a conversation with a
passenger, eating a snack in the car, or playing with ones IPod or mp3 player.
It can be argued that there cannot be a law for all behaviors that are deemed
unacceptable and therefore a ban on all cell phone use while driving is not
necessary. Many people take part in illegal actions while operating a motor
vehicle every day such as drinking and driving and smoking weed and driving
even though both are illegal. If people are not taking these laws seriously
there is absolutely no way that they will take an even minor law such as no
cell phone use while driving seriously. Some may also argue that it is
important to have a cell phone while driving in case of an emergency, which is
valid. If there is someone that is following a driver with extreme road rage it
is likely that the driver will not want to pull over to make an emergency phone
call, rather they will safely be able to call from their moving vehicle.
One of the main reasons people do no
want to have a ban on cell phone use is because they believe that the law will
not really help for the reason that people do things in the car that are
equivalent to cell phone use such as eat or hold a conversation with
passengers. However, when one is holding
a conversation with a passenger their eyes are not being taken off of the road.
It has been proven that the cell phone laws have decreased the number of car
accidents. According to the National Safety Council, in 2010, drivers using
cell phones caused 28 percent of all car accidents in the United States. This
is a prime example of why cell phone use needs to be banned in cars! Many also believe
that the law will be ineffective for the reason that drinking and driving is
illegal yet people do it anyways. However, it has been proven that cell phone
use while driving a car can be just as bad as when one is intoxicated at the
legal limit, which is 0.08. This reaffirms just how dangerous cell phone use while
driving can be which is why it needs to be banned in all states.
When a driver uses a cell phone
while driving they are not only putting themselves in danger, but all of the
people around them. They could crash and hurt himself or herself or a
passenger, they could hit someone walking a dog or even a child on the street;
they could even collide with another car.
Using a cell phone while driving is distracting, inconvenient, and most
importantly dangerous. Although many states now have laws against texting and
driving, I believe that each state needs to have a law banning any form of cell
phone use in a car. With these laws in place, the road would be a much safer
place.
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