Itshould be legal to drive while talking on the cell phone with a handfree device
Outline
Topic:Should it be legal to drive while talking on the cell phone with ahand free device
Objective:To assess the impact of cell phone use while driving and justify whysuch a risky behavior should be banned.
Thesis:The use of cell phones while driving is among the most riskybehaviors that lead to road accidents and a decline in the driver’sperformance, but it can be prevented effectively through legislativebans.
The use of cell phone is currently the most common factor that distracts drivers in the modern world.
Distraction associated with the cell phone use causes about 1.6 million car crashes each year (Snyder, 2015).
About 330,000 traffic-related injuries reported each year are attributed to cell phone use while driving, which implies that this risky behavior is responsible for one in every four car accidents (Snyder, 2015).
Cell phone use causes accidents by distracting the drivers, which force them to focus more on the conversation than the driving (NSC, 2012).
Driver’s distraction is confirmed by the fact that texting alone leads to a 400% increase in the time that the drivers spend with their eyes away from the road, which make cell phone use the most dangerous activity on roads (Snyder, 2015).
Cell phone use while driving can be controlled through legislations, but the effectiveness of the laws depends on the dedication of the law enforcers.
Theuse of cell phones while driving distracts drivers and forces them tomultitask, which reduces the driver’s performance and increase therisk of causing accidents.
Preview of the main points
The use of cell phones while driving leads to distraction of drivers
Road accidents
Drivers who use cell phones while driving lose concentration because they have to balance between the phone conversation and the task of driving (Patten, 2007).
The loss of concentration reduces the capacity of divers to respond and react to events that occur along the busy roads, which increase the risk of accidents (National Safety Council, 2012).
A driver who is speaking on the phone may not be able to find a quick solution to avoid a head on collision with an oncoming car (NSC, 2012).
The ability of drivers to stay in the correct lane is determined by different visual resources and the cognitive senses that help drivers manage unexpected events (NSC, 2012).
The significant decline in the level of concentration and the ability to respond to events among the phone-using drivers increases the chances for car accidents, which risks the lives of drivers and other road users (Snyder, 2015).
The use of phones increases the breaking times by about 18 %, following distance by 12 %, and time for speed resumption after the incident of breaking by 17 %, all of which are risky behaviors (Nikolaev, Robbins & Jacobson, 2009).
At the national level, distraction of drivers is associated with about 80 % all automobile accidents and 65 % of near accidents, which results in about 2,600 deaths, 330,000 critical injuries, and 1.5 million incidents of property damage (Nikolaev, Robbins & Jacobson, 2009).
About 76 % of the cash crashes associated with the use of mobile phones while driving involve rear-end-impact, which suggests that drivers who use phones while driving lose concentration and crash into vehicles in front (Nikolaev, Robbins & Jacobson, 2009).
Crash deaths associated with the distraction of drivers range between 45 % and 63 % in New Mexico and 6 and 26 % in California (McCartt, Kidd & Teoh, 2014).
About 42 % of the accidents involving the use of mobile phones occur when drivers are responding to a call, 32 % dialing, 16 % conversing, and 5 % hanging the phone (NSC, 2012).
The use of cell phones reduces driver’s performance
The use of cell phone while driving involve different maneuvers, such as searching for the phone inside the vehicle, picking a phone that has been dropped, and reaching the phone to initiate or receive a call (NSC, 2012).
The use of phone consumes the driver’s time, coordination, and mental energy that should have been used to focus on careful driving (NSC, 2012).
The overall decrease in the drivers’ performance following the use of phones has been confirmed by studies showing that drivers experience workload and delayed response time when they use phones (NSC, 2012).
The use of phone distorts the lateral position of the driver and a decrease in their focus on the driving tasks, which leads to a decline in the overall performance (NSC, 2012).
Statescan contain the risky behavior of using phones while driving byformulating legislative bans, which is an effective way of reducingroad accidents and changing behavior among the drivers.
The use of legislative bans to regulate drivers’ behaviors
Impact on car crash outcomes
About 71 % of the drivers support the idea of restricting the use of cell phones while driving, while 57 % of them hold that such behaviors should be completely banned (Nikolaev, Robbins & Jacobson, 2009).
Introduction of bans in New York, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia reduced the prevalence of fatal crashes in 46 (74.19 %) out of 62 counties covered by the study (McCartt, Kidd & Teoh, 2014).
Texting while driving bans in all states reduce car crashes by 7 % on average (Krisberg, 2015).
Behavioral impact of banning the use of mobile phones while driving
The existence of legislative laws motivates drivers to avoid risky behaviors (such as the use of mobile phones while driving), which indicates a change of behavior (Patten, 2007).
Studies have shown that the introduction of legislations to punish drivers who use their phones while driving reduces this risky behavior by 50 %, but the trend goes back to pre-legislation period after a few months (Patten, 2007).
The return of the risky behavior of using mobile phones among drivers is associated with a decline in enforcement and publicity, which implies that legislatives are effective, but the enforcement agencies and the media fail to do their work (Patten, 2007).
Banning the use of phones while driving in the states of New York, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia resulted in a decline in this risky behavior for a period of seven years by between 24 % and 74 % (McCartt, Kidd & Teoh, 2014).
Byformulating effective laws that punish drivers who use their cellphones while driving, states can increase road safety, save the livesof thousands of road users, and restore sanity in the traffic sector.
Conclusion
Cell phone use increases the risk of accidents by distracting drivers, which reduce their ability to respond quickly to unexpected events.
The cell phone use causes deaths and fatal injuries to thousands of drivers and other road users each year.
Cell phone use reduces the overall performance of drivers by forcing them to multitask, reduce their driving speed, and spend more time on other tasks (such as texting) instead of driving-related tasks.
Legislative bans on cell phone use and texting while driving reduces car crash indents by 7 % on average.
The effectiveness of the legislative bans is based on the role played by the media and the law enforcers in ensuring that the new laws are followed by the drivers.
States should play the role of formatting legislative bans on the use of cell phones while driving since this is the only effective way of ensuring that drivers are punished for risking their own lives and those of other road users.
References
Krisberg,K. (2015, April 10). Researchers: Texting and driving bans reducecrash-related hospitalization. ThePump Handle.Retrieved June 5, 2016, fromwww.nsc.org/DistractedDrivingDocuments/AnalysisLiterature-UseMobilePhonesWhileDriving.pdf
McCartt,T., Kidd, G. & Teoh, R. (2014). Driver cell phone and textingbans in the United States: Evidence of effectiveness. Archiveof Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine,58, 99-114.
NationalSafety Council (2012). Understandingthe distracted brain.Itasca: National Safety Council.
Nikolaev,G., Robbins, J. & Jacobson, H. (2009). Evaluating the impact oflegislation prohibiting hand-held cell phone use while driving.TransportationResearch,44, 182-193.
Patten,C. (2007). Analysisof the literature: The use of mobile phones while driving.Victoria: Monash University.
Snyder,E. (2015). Cell phone use while driving statistics. EdgarSnyder an Associate.Retrieved June 5, 2016, fromhttps://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html