Cell Phones Should Be Banned While Driving

We all are probably aware that texting and talking on the phone is a distraction to all drivers and can be very dangerous. Also, we all know there are many other distractions besides texting and driving, and any type of technology can cause a driver to be distracted. Forty-one percent of all drivers use their hands to text in the car while driving, according to Greg Gardner (52). It can cause people to forget about pedestrians or their surrounding areas. People who are distracted often aren’t focused and don’t have both hands on the wheel. According to Bryan Wilson, people may say that cell phones are easy to be pointed out as a problem, but statistics show the damage cell phones can do to a person while they are driving (6). According to Simon Usborne, time spent not looking at the road while talking on the phone is 15% of the time (68). Also, while texting and driving the time spent not looking at the road is 30% of the time (Usborne 69). As technology improves more and more people may feel the need to use their cell phones while driving. According to Melissa Healy, cell phone use can be as dangerous as drunk driving (42). Tests should be done to compare the various ways of sober people under the influence driving also to compare the impact of texting and driving. This would give us a better understanding of just how dangerous driving and being on our phone really is.

Annotated Bibliography THESIS STATEMENT: The use of a cell phone while driving has been proven to be more dangerous than driving while legally intoxicated. The United States Government should ban all cell phone use while driving because it is a danger to public health. Centers for Disease Control. (2016). Distracted Driving.

Imagine being blindfolded for the length of a football field while driving. This would not feel very safe, right? Well, five second is the average time your eyes are off the road while sending or reading a text. When traveling at 55 mph, that is enough time to cover the length of a football field. Plus, the average amount of time it takes to get into a crash is only three seconds. 11% of all drivers under 20 that were involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted. This age group has the largest population of distracted drivers. It is not just teens, adults are also breaking the law while driving. 49% of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading texts on their cell phone. Reaching for a phone, dialing, texting and other uses of portable devices increases the risk of getting into a crash by three times. As of 2011, about 60% of drivers use cell phones while driving. There is obviously a huge chance of getting into a wreck, whether you are the one texting or not. It is not just the decision to not text and drive, but the decision to refuse to get in a car where the driver has their cell phone

Despite an effective way of communication, using cell phones during driving results in the distracted attention of driver increasing road safety concerns.

Not only does using a cell phone while driving put the driver in danger, but it also puts other drivers in danger because it can be distracting.”Distracted driving affects all drivers from time to time and can come with stiff consequences,”(Delbridge). This shows that one is not only putting themselves in danger, but they are putting other drivers at risk as well.Thousands of people have been affected by these distracted drivers and have been injured. “About 424,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver,”(edgarsnyder.com 2018). This is just a small example of how many people who have been affected and this also shows how some of the other drivers are affected.

Some say banning cellphones use while driving will not be enforceable because drivers do all sorts of other things that cause distracted driving- eating, kids, music etc. - (Froetscher, NYTE). Some say distracted driving is less dangerous than it seems or that it’s perfectly fine, however through research and evidence this can not possibly be true “particularly texting, that seems to be a really hazardous activity, much more dangerous than talking on the phone, raising to a level that exceeds what we see with someone who is drunk driving, ” (Austin 139,140).

Studies conducted from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that using a cell phone while driving significantly impairs a driver’s reaction time and triples the risk of being involved in a crash or near-crash, and text messaging increases crash risk by a multiple of 8 for all ages (NHTSA, 2009). Situational awareness is significantly decreased while engaging in distracted driving, and in turn inattention blindness is increased drastically creating a potentially deadly situation on the roads. A driver who is multitasking has less brain function available and thus literally fails to see or pay attention to things that are squarely in the field of vision (Texting and Driving, 2010). On the other hand there are those that may be able to multitask successfully though the challenge is

A study made by Virginia Tech, says that an individual is twenty-three times more likely to get in a car accident if they are distracted by a mobile device (cbsnews.com). Thirty-eight states have banned texting, and 8 states have partial bands on texting and driving. Evidence shows that drivers that are distracted by a phone, while behind the wheel of a 4000 pound vehicle endanger not only themselves but others as well. “You’re a hazardous driver to yourself and everybody else” (Web MD). The impacts and effects associated with texting and driving should be outlawed because of the danger that every single driver and passenger are at risk of.

Texting and driving is extremely hazardous to a persona the people surrounding them. The lives of innocent people are taken every day, due to a simple mistake of looking or reading a text message. Texting while driving, itself is extremely dangerous, but what’s even more surprising is that researchers are connecting it with drunk driving. Driving while texting is the second leading causes of death or injury on the road, drunk driving being the second. If more people are aware of how closely related drunk driving and texting are then they would probably stop. Texting while driving puts many driver’s lives in danger daily. Many people feel that staying connected to what’s outside of their distance is more important than focusing on the road ahead, although it isn’t. Texting while driving can harm others and the driver itself. If people would open their eyes to the dangers of texting while driving, less car accidents would take place every year and the roads would be much safer. Distracted drivers need to know the position they put others in as well as themselves. It’s very unfortunate to see anyone getting killed due to texting while driving or are just a product death of it. While behind the wheel, drivers should never direct their attention to their cell phone and should always keep their eyes on the

In fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that “8 people are killed and 1,161 are injured daily in the United States” (CDC). At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010 (DMV). Further supporting the fact that cell phones have become such a precious commodity that it is hard to imagine everyday life without them. Cell phones alone aren’t the problem, but when you add the cell phone plus a vehicle into the mix it’s just not possible to safely reach your destination. When you are operating a motor vehicle the task requires a person’s full mental capacity, so when a person is using their phone and driving they’re splitting their focus onto two separate task. “Among the various forms of distracted driving, texting stands out as particularly dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction, requiring the driver to take his eyes off the road, remove at least one hand from the steering wheel and take his mind off the task of driving” (Gormley 91).

Cell phone use while driving should be banned. I say this because studies done by US Legal, Inc. shows that talking on the phone is distracting and can increase your chance of getting into an accident. Jonathan Adkins said “taxes the cognitive skills of your brain at the expense of the driving at the hand, and if the conversation is stressful your reaction time would not be as quick”. This tells me that most people

Since cell phones became popular, there have been significantly more distractive driving accidents on record. A tiny little phone, small enough to fit in your pocket, can cause major accidents on the road. Mobile phones have had many negative effects while driving. Overall, using cell phones while driving should be illegal.

C. Central idea: Cell phones are as common in the market today as a wrist watch on your arm. Everyone has one including the very young as well as the extreme elderly. People are constantly talking, texting, playing games or surfing on

Lastly, cell phone use while driving should be banned because it can become dangerous for oneself as well as others on the road. Not only does cell phone use for drivers endanger other people, it endangers the life of the operator itself. Drivers can run off the road into trees, ditches, or poles; they may also run into other cars or drift into oncoming traffic. Using a cell phone while driving also puts other drivers on the road in danger; if a driver is texting, their eyes are on their phone and they may not see the car in front of them stopping, which will lead into a wreck that could injury someone.

Driving in general can be hazardous. Driving and having such a distraction as a cell phone at ear, or ringing somewhere in a car, is ten times more dangerous. Not surprisingly, drivers who use a cell phone while driving perceive cell phone use by others as less of a threat to their safety as do non-users. A huge number of accidents caused by talking on a cell phone. During the last 5 years texting has become insanely popular. It’s a great and convenient tool because people don’t have to call person to just say ‘ok’ on that dinner invitation. The worst part is that many people still think that texting while driving just that ‘ok’ is ok. Unfortunately, even with traffic police enforcing those ‘no cellphone’ laws, individuals still neglect those simple safety concerns. People need to start understanding themselves how dangerous it is.