Cell Phones Usage While Driving
Whether using mobile devices while driving should be legal or not is a huge controversy across the United States. This is one of the largest issues were facing as citizens because distracted driving is causing thousands of deaths each year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 3,331 people were killed in car crashes during 2011 due to distracted driving. Thus leading to using cell phones while driving should be illegal in all states to protect not only the lives of the drivers but also the lives of the passengers.
Driving while using a cellphone is one of the most dangerous distractions while driving. Some Americans will say that using a cellphone while driving is safer then other distractions such as eating or messing with the radio. However, I find this to be a false sense of reality because while you may be eating you do not take your eyes off the road and place them on your sand which for a prolonged period of time. Why cell phones should be illegal while driving is because by taking away the distraction of wanting to hurry and look at you are preventing one less crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that in 2010 3,267 and 2011 3,331 people were killed due to distracted driving. Therefore, without bans on using cellphones while driving the numbers of deaths are continuously going to rise.
Numbers of adolescents younger than twenty are rated as the number most distracted age group while driving. Most teens will are ague that if they cannot have their cellphone while driving then why should any sort of distraction such as something as simple as another passenger, be allowed in the car. Where these kids are not seeing the big picture is that talking or texting on your cellphone takes away from you paying attention to the road. To text or even dial on a phone you are removing your hands from the wheel and your eyes from the road. This leads to not being able to see the possible dangers ahead, which can end up in an accident and death or injury. The NHTSA says, “For drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones.”
Using handheld devises such as Bluetooth is another distraction that can lead to serious death or injuries in car crashes. Most people will say that if cellphones should be illegal then we should be allowed to use Bluetooth’s to at least talk on the phone since they are not hand held. The problem with Bluetooth is that they still cause a distraction from the road. Bluetooth’s have to potential to fall out of your ear and can even land on the floor resulting in you