Should Cell Phones be Prohibited While Driving

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Gerardo Tejada English III- 5 Mrs. Smith 13 March 2008 Should Legislatures Prohibit Cell Phones While Driving? Cell phones have become a fundamental aspect of life as advanced technology allows a more efficient communication system. This new system allows one to freely communicate with someone while driving to work, to the grocery store, to the park, among other destinations. Should lawmakers forbid cell phone usage while driving? Is there a way to make cell phones less hazardous in our mobile society? While some find cell phones to be a death sentence when used in vehicles, others argue that cell phones are miracles produced by the new technology. Because the use of cell phones while driving is debatable, Legislators need to consider specific aspects of cell phone usage before enacting laws. Legislators need to consider different statistical records before ratifying legislation prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving. Automobile accident statistics can be used to evaluate the safety of cell phones when driving. According to a study by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, only 1.7% of accidents occur while ³using or dialing on a cell phone,´ as compared to the 29.4% of the accidents caused by ³outside objects, persons, or events´ (Source A). Source C agrees with this study as it demonstrates that cell phone-related automobile crashes are only prevalent for a small percentage of the total crashes recorded in various states. However, Source B refutes Source A and Source C by declaring that ³people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent.´ Thus, the use of cell phones while maneuvering a vehicle parallels drinking and driving, in the sense that cell phones mirror alcohol and drunk driving. Furthermore, statistics based on cell phone distractions should also be taken into

account before any legislative action is performed. According to Source D, there is an ³18 to 20 percent slowing of reaction times,´ as cell phones distract a person who should be strictly concentrated on the road. Although Source D establishes a reasonable point that should be considered by legislators, Source E discredits this declaration by affirming that the most deathdefying distractions, which account for 16 percent of accidents, are ³looking at a previous crash, vehicle, roadside incident, or traffic.´ In addition, Source F agrees that cell phones are only one source of distraction when driving. ³[C]up holders [. . .] complex radios,´ eating while driving, among other ³work-related tasks´ are other major distractions that will be present with or without cell phones. Therefore, legislators must examine statistical observations before creating cell phone usage-based laws. Lawmakers need to analyze the possibility of an acceptable method in which cell phones can safely be used while driving and whether cell phones are overall necessary. Hands-free technology has become a popular way to simultaneously drive and talk on the phone ³safely.´ ³[H]ands-free cellular devices [. . .] allow [Americans] to keep both hands on the wheel and [their] eyes on the road at all times´ (Source A). Although this assertion seems reliable, Source B contradicts Source A by providing a University of Utah study ³showing that motorists who talk on handheld or hands-free cellular phones are as impaired as drunken drivers.´ Source B further supports its claim by explaining that ³hands-free cell phones are just as distracting as handheld cell phones because the conversation itself [. . .] distracts drivers from road conditions. Moreover, cell phones can be beneficial at times. According to Source A, ³an estimated 118,000 emergency calls [are] placed by cell phone users every day; [therefore], a ban [would] discourage drivers from carrying phones in their cars.´ Thus, a failure to have cell phone access would result in tragedy if an emergency came about while on the road. If the legislators had to

decide on cell phone-related laws based on the life-saving benefits, they would easily create laws protecting cell phone usage while driving. Unfortunately, ³young drivers [for instance] drive like the elderly´ when using cell phones at the wheel (Source D). This reality, instead of saving lives, endangers innocent people who attempt to travel through traffic in which cell phones control the actions of oblivious drivers.

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