Driver's Ed Research Paper

Submitted By MikeCav1
Words: 784
Pages: 4

Michael Cavanagh
8/2013
Driver’s Ed Research Paper
CELL PHONES
Cell phones are a huge distraction when it comes to driving. The number of deaths that occur due to people talking on the phone or texting increases every year. Laws are being passed to try and get people to stop using their phones while driving.
The issue of cell phones is everywhere. Forty-one states ban texting while driving. Under New York State law you cannot use a hand-held mobile telephone or send a text or an email while you drive. If a cell phone is used other than to contact 911 or other emergency numbers, you receive a one hundred fifty dollar traffic ticket and surcharge. In 2013, several changes are being made to the penalties for these violations. You also receive five driver violation points on your license for offenses committed. You are only allowed ten driver violation points in an eighteen month period. If you receive ten driver violation points you receive a license suspension. For violations that occur to drivers with probationary driver licenses, Class DJ or Class MJ driver licenses or learner permits, your driver license or permit will be suspended for sixty days. For the second offense within six months a revocation of at least six months of a probationary license, or a revocation of at least sixty days for a Class DJ or MJ driver license or learner permit. Fines for cell phone use are up to one hundred dollars.
Different states have different laws when it comes to cell phones Arkansas and Illinois also bans the use of cellphones while driving in a school zone or in a highway construction zone. New Hampshire enacted a comprehensive distracted driving law. Texas has banned the use of cellphones and texting in school zones only. No state bans all cell phone use for all drivers, but thirty seven states and Washington D.C. ban all cellphone use inexperienced drivers, and nineteen states and D.C. prohibit it for school bus drivers.
Many deaths are caused each year due to cell phone use while driving. About six thousand deaths and a half a million injuries are caused by distracted drivers every year. Teenagers spend ten percent of the time out of the lane they are supposed to be in while they are driving and texting. The reaction time of someone talking on the phone while driving is about equal to the reaction time of a seventy year old. In five seconds your car can travel the length of a football field. Thats all you need to get into a car accident. In 2009, five thousand four hundred seventy five people were killed in the U.S. because of accidents that involved distracted driving. Another four hundred forty eight thousand were injured. Of the five thousand four hundred seventy five killed because of distracted driving, nine hundred ninety five involved reports of a cell phone as a factor. However, the number of fatalities caused by cell phone use could be much higher. For those who were injured,