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Driven to Distraction by Cell Phones

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Driven to Distraction by Cell Phones
Sandra Greene

ENG 215

Professor Erica Ellsworth

18 May, 2012

Driven to Distraction by Cell Phones

Countless numbers of people are dying every day. These deaths are not limited to certain areas but are occurring nationally. They are pointless deaths because something could be done to prevent it from happening. Imagine if stopping one simple act could save countless lives. That simple act would be to stop being distracted by our cell phones when driving. Are we still willing to listen or do we discount or tune out the speaker and continue on about our business? The fact is that all states should have standardized laws banning cell phone use while driving because talking, texting, and reading texts distract drivers and lead to accidents and death.

A brief history of the cell phone shows that “between 1998 and 2001, more than 100 million cell phones were sold. By the end of the 90's, more than 70 million users existed. At the end of 2000, there were over 100 million subscribers, so the 2000’s are the decade that cell phones became common” (Strayer and Cooper, 2009). It is also the decade that lives started to be lost due to cell phone use while driving.

Today almost everyone has a cell phone. It is hard to imagine a time when we did not have cell phones available to us. Most people can barely remember having to use pay phones to make calls. Cell phones are helpful and convenient. The problem comes when people are so attached to them that they cannot function without it. The problem comes when people are driving killing machines and cannot concentrate on driving due to using their cell phone.

[pic]
(Miller, 2012) People are distracted by their cell phones everyday while driving. “Drivers who use hand-held devices are 4 times more likely

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