The Effectiveness of Prohibiting the Use of Cell Phones While Driving

Daniel Lizama
ENG 102
March 2, 2013
The Effectiveness of Prohibiting the Use of Cell Phones While Driving The use of cell phones while driving causes the driver to be distracted. “According to Major Huxtable, cell phone use can distract a driver’s attention from traffic and road conditions” (Wisconsin Department of Transportation). As technology advances more and more people are starting to own cell phones often times at such a young age. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 11 percent of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were distracted at the time of the crash…this age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted” (Wisconsin Department of Transportation). The use of cell phones while driving distracts the driver’s attention from the road, can affect their behaviors while driving, and can cause major to minor traffic accidents. Many states have created laws to prohibit the use of hand held devices while driving and that driver’s are required to use hands-free devices when driving a vehicle. In article from USA Today, “More than 250 bills prohibiting or restricting cell phone use while driving are pending in 42 state legislatures despite disagreement over the risk cell phones pose and the effectiveness of enforcement” (O’Donnell, 2009). There are many things that may distract our attention to the road while driving. One of major causes of most fatal car accidents involves using your cell phone while driving. Over the past few years this has been an increasing cause of major or minor car accidents. Often time’s drivers distract their attention by texting or call someone while driving. “Distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways. In 2010, alone, over 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving crashes” (Distraction.gov). Distraction.gov is an official U.S. Government Website mainly for distracted driving. It’s a movement to get people to get the facts and get involved in becoming a driver who does not text or call while driving. Their slogan or motto is “One text or call could wreck it all” (Distraction.gov) which clearly states how distracted driving can seriously affect you or others around you. While distracted driving falls into several different categories as to what kinds of distractions, texting is one of the major distractions while driving. Some types of distractions that may be included as distracted driving include: texting, using a cell phone or Smartphone, eating and drinking, talking to passengers, grooming, reading (maps), using a navigation system, watching a video, and adjusting a radio (Distraction.gov). Text messaging is the most disturbing distraction of what was listed in the above because it requires your visual (taking your eyes of the road), manual (taking your hands off the wheel), and cognitive (taking your mind off what you are doing) while driving. You have to get your phone, read and comprehend the message, as well as reply back to the message. Another campaign that markets their strong views about texting and driving is the AT&T campaign, “It can wait!” They express the value of lives you could save and even your own life, by sharing people’s personal stories about how they have lost a loved one or have gotten seriously injured in accidents that were because they were texting and driving. Their campaign slogan or motto, “It can wait” is straightforward and clear to the point because it really can wait. You can wait till you have stopped the car completely to text someone or if it really is an emergency pull to the side and respond to the emergency at hand. “AT&T is committed to putting an end to texting and driving. Our message is simple yet vital: when it comes to texting and driving it can wait” (AT&T Intellectual Property). There are several commercials that are often shown throughout everyday television programs the express how important it is to not text or use your cell phones while driving by sharing the stories of everyday people and what happened to them whether it was severely injured or losing a life. When it comes to texting while driving, the biggest groups of people at risk are teenagers. “The average U.S. mobile teen now sends or receives an average of 2,899 text-messages per month and apparently some of those texts are being send and read from behind the wheel” (Magid, 2009). In 2007, AAA and Seventeen Magazine conducted a study on teen’s texting while driving: “61 percent of teens admit to risky driving habits and 46 percent of that 61 percent say that they text message while driving” (Magid, 2009). Some facts from different sources on Nationwide.com include: “distraction from cell phone use while driving extends a driver’s reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit or 0.08 percent (University of Utah); drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves (NHTSA, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety); driving while distracted is a factor in 25 percent of police reported crashes (NHTSA); and driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent (Carnegie Mellon). Distracted driving or the use of cell phones while driving is a serious cause of many fatal accidents throughout the U.S. Over 40,000 people have signed up to take the pledge with AT&T to never text and drive (AT&T Intellectual Property). People’s behaviors while driving can be affected when texting or using your cell phones while driving. For example, say you are fighting with your significant other through text messages and you get in your car drive somewhere, your behavior at the moment is risky because (1) you are mad, (2) you are fighting over text messages with your significant other, and (3) your emotions become heightened. Your behavior them imposes a risk to other drivers on the road because you are not in the right state of mind to be paying attention to traffic on the road or anything else, your mind is focusing on the argument you are having at the moment. When people begin to operate a moving vehicle they do not turn off their connection with the world, but instead continue to use their cell phones. According Ellen Pastorino she states that, “Our brain is not capable of fully concentrating on two things simultaneously. Our brain is has what is called a cognitive load (an amount of mental activity that it can engage in at one time). In a cell phone conversation while driving, that leaves your brain with less cognitive load to focus on driving” (Pastorino, 2012). Texting while driving has increased throughout the years as technology becomes more hi-tech and advanced with the every growing cell phones/Smartphone industry. Many times such distractions of physical and mental behaviors have caused many major to minor accidents throughout the U.S. “In 2009, over 5,000 car crashes involved distractions, a fifth of which all cell phones and text messaging were involved (DistractedDrivingHelp.com). When you text and drive your ability to pay attention to the road and lose control of your car can be 3-5 seconds before you cause an accident. “In 2011, at least 23 percent of auto collisions involved cell phones, that’s 1.3 million crashes” (textinganddrivingsafety.com, 2012). Texting while driving makes you about 23 times more likely to crash (National Hwy Transportation Safety Admin). The Institute for Hwy Safety Fatality Facts found that with 1.6 million accidents that occur per year about eleven of those are teen deaths (textinganddrivingsafety.com). This notion of trying to prevent and stop people from using their cell phones while driving has increased throughout the years. Many states have bans and laws in regulation prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving. There are also a lot of movements or organizations trying to educate more people on the dangers of texting while driving. The biggest campaign and widely known is AT&T’s campaign, “Texting and driving…it can wait.” Their stories of real people can impact people’s thoughts about this major issues or trend in todays Society. The effectiveness or awareness of such dangers, facts, statistics, and pledges/campaigns of the issues of texting while driving are becoming greater in todays world. As technologies continue to advance, younger teens acquiring smartphones, the more dangers a brought to all road when it comes to texting while driving or distracted driving.