CELL PHONE USAGE WHILE DRIVING 1

CELL PHONE USAGE WHILE DRIVING 2

Cell phone usage has rapidly become part of the daily lives of millions of people. I have seen many people talk, text, respond to e-mails, and check social media while trying to drive. All of these actions reduce the driver’s situational awareness by taking their eyes off of the road to look at their cell phone. Many drivers swerve into other lanes, run red lights, stop signs, or had close calls all due to using a cell phone while driving. Using cell phones while driving is very dangerous not only to the drivers but also to the people around them. The only way to keep our streets safe is to ban the use of cell phones while driving and make our vehicles a no phone zone. As a result of the information found, talking on a cell phone can distract a person from concentrating solely on the road. Our brain is better at concentrating on one thing at a time, which we are not as good of a multitasker as we might think. While using cell phones, the driver has a slower reaction time which in the end can cause more car accidents. I believe the use of cell phones while a person’s car is in motion should be made illegal for all throughout the United States with exceptions to emergencies. Wouldn’t you do anything to create a law that could help prevent you from seeing a loved one cope with an injury or even a person’s death, caused by a car accident? Currently, there are applications on the market which automatically lock your phone while driving. From CellSafety and TXTBlocker to Zoomsafer and IZup. There are also plenty of applications that use a phone's GPS system to block various functionalities (text, e-mail, Web, phone calls) when a driver is moving faster than a certain speed (Sherzan, 2010). All of these applications shut down distracting functionalities such as texting and surfing the internet. However, some (CellSafety) will allow the driver to make and receive calls, while others (Zoomsafe) allow you to permit or block certain functionalities like voice dialing (Sherzan,2010). These are great solutions to prevent distracted driving resulting from cell phone usage but it’s solely up to the individual to make them work.

CELL PHONE USAGE WHILE DRIVING 3

Some people believe that when you are issued a driver’s license that the Department of Transportation is giving you the responsibility to drive safely, so they should be able to choose if they want to use a cell phone while driving no matter how dangerous it can be. In other words these people believe that they should have the choice to be able to do anything they please to do while driving. It has been proven that this epidemic on using cell phones while driving is not safe. Just like drinking and driving is not safe and illegal. We have laws such as this to prevent accidents and keep our communities safe. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council have launched the new Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks. This is a public service advertising public service announcement campaign nationwide. All of the PSAs direct audiences to StopTextsStopWrecks.org, a new campaign website where teens and young adults can find facts about the impact of texting while driving, and tips for how to curb the behavior. The website also has an area where individuals can post and share their solutions to stop texting and driving on Facebook. The NHTSA also reported that pilot projects in Syracuse, New York, and Hartford, Connecticut, produced significant reductions in distracted driving by combining stepped-up ticketing with these high-profile public education campaigns. Before and after each enforcement wave, NHTSA researchers observed cellphone use by drivers and conducted surveys at Department of Motor Vehicles offices in the two cities.