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Banning Cellphones While Driving

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Why Banning the Use of Cell Phones While Driving Should be Mandatory Nationwide.

Cellular phones have served us in many effective ways. They connect people when they are away and need information. They allow us to stay in touch with family and friends. In essence, they keep us communicating. While they are good, they can cause a lot of problems on our roads. Do you believe that using a cell phone while driving causes a driver to be impaired as a driver who is driving under the influence of alcohol? Well, according to research done by psychologists at the University of Utah, “people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at a legal blood alcohol limit 0.08 percent, which is the minimum level of an illegal drunken driver in most U.S. states.” Today, more people are being drunken by their cell phones. This impaired driving, according to the psychologists, is also causing a lot of road users to respond slower in many ways than if they were sober. The drivers, they said, take a longer time to hit the brakes, take a slower time to get back to normal speed after breaking and are more capable of being involved in an accident. Can you see the danger in this type of driving? Can you see what could possible happen to pedestrians or other drivers under this type of driving? If as a people we care about our lives as well as the lives of others, then, law makers would enact laws to ban the use of cell phones while driving nationwide. This, I believe will reduce the statistic collected on driving under the influence of cell phones. I am therefore calling upon legislatures from all nations to look seriously into this matter and help save the lives of our people on the roads by banning the use of cell phones while driving.
Using cell phones not only impairs drivers while driving but according to the Carnegie Mellon study, “driving while listening to a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated by driving by 37 percent. This, the writer said, “can cause drivers to weave out of their lane.” The study went on to say that, a driver will be required the use of one or both hands in sending a text message or making a phone call. If a person is driving with a reduction in his mental capacity, then that person is not fully equipped for the roads and should be prevented from driving. Using cellular phones while driving will also reduce the quality of driving. On a regular basis, we would see drivers driving at a slower rate. This is so, because they are unable to focus mentally on their driving. These drivers either shift from lane to lane or drive very slowly in one lane. They hold up the traffic many times, as they are now forced to focus on the phone calls which now, take precedence over driving. These drivers are more capable of “making road maintenance errors, such as hitting a simulated guardrail, and deviating from the middle of the lane”. According to the Carnegie Mellon study. When the mental capacity to think is reduced, then people are likely to lose concentration and make a lot of errors. We do not need these drivers on our roads. We need drivers who will use their whole mental capacity while driving, as lives are being involved in this process.
Driving and using cell phones at the same time, will not only develop into bad driving habits and serve as a distracter but is also more likely to cause persons to lose their lives. Research done by the University of Utah shows that a person is four time more likely to be in a crash while talking on a cell phone and driving. Who are better at talking or texting on cell phones these days? Young people of course.
In early 20I0, I witnessed an accident in which my nineteen year old cousin, who was a taxi driver, senselessly gave away his life. He was trying to make a call on his cell phone when he drove into a parked truck. My cousin was even swerving and driving on the wrong side of the road. Before he could get his hands and mind together, it was too late. Yes he was distracted. He was unable to think. He died right on the spot. If everyone has not yet experienced the grief caused from losing someone to an accident, the possibility lies that it will occur. Many homes are being shattered every day due to the loss of a loved one by accidents caused by drivers using a cell phone. Or even if they may not die, there are many people who are left paralyzed, unable to work and provide for their families due to a cell phone. Can we help to spear the grief of other families? Also In an article on Newsday, the writer stated that, “texting while driving has become a greater hazard than drinking and driving among teenagers.”These teenagers admitted that they use their phones while driving. The article went on to say, that as technology advanced the number of injured and dying teenagers increased. Technology will only get better. What about our young people? Also Stuart Miles, in an article on Pocket-Lint stated that, the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York conducted new research concluded that, “more than 300,000 teens are injured and more than 3,000 die each year as a result of sending SMS message while behind the wheel.” Don’t you think our young people are dying senseless death? That research was conducted in New York. Just imagine if we should calculate how many die each year in the world from this type of behavior. Will they live longer if legislatures nationwide do not help to save their lives? I am sure that this statistic in road accidents will be reduced when drivers know that they will be punished.
Driving while talking or texting on a cell phone should be prevented because it causes impairment in a driver, increases the risks of hurting other people and deteriorates quality driving. It separates family members; it is a huge distracter as well as a road hazard among drivers. Make it a crime for all drivers to be using their cell phones while driving. Help them to realize how precious one’s life is. Enforce laws which ban the use of cell phones on our roads nationwide and help these drivers to be, less distracted, more focus, and more cautious. Save the lives of the drivers as well as the lives of other and road users. Ban the use of cell phones while driving nationwide.

References
Miles, S. (2013 May). More US teens killed texting while driving than drinking. Pocket- lint
Retrieved 9. 08. 13 from http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/120965-more-us-teens-killed-texting-while-driving- than-drinking Spice, B ( 2008). Carnegie Mellon study shows just listening to cell phones significantly Impairs drivers. Carnegie Mellon University
Retrieved 7.08.13 from http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/March/march5_drivingwhilelistening.shtml

Utah University (2006), Cell Phone Drivers As Bad As Drunks. Science Blog
Retrieved 7.08.13 from http://scienceblog.com/10911/cell-phone-drivers-as-bad-as-drunks/
The University Of Utah, Drivers On Cell Phones Are As Bad As Drunks: U News Center Retrieved 7.08.13 from http://www.unews.utah.edu/old/p/062206-1.html

May 8, 2013 Study: Texting while driving now leading cause of death for teen drivers. NationNewsday > News retrieved 9. 08. 2013 from http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/study-texting-while-driving-now-leading-cause-of-death-for-teen-drivers-1.5226036

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