Public Safety

Introduction

Use of cell phones while driving is an obsession that may lead to injury, accidents and death. The society today should enact laws that ban and abolish the use of cell phones while driving. Cell phone may be the biggest invention of all inventions but has caused so many injuries and death. Destruction from the use of mobile phones has been proved as fatal. This paper seeks to explain why the State should enact legislation to prevent the use of cell phones while driving.

Should the State Enact Legislation to Prevent the use of Cell Phones while Driving?

Many states are debating whether to restrict destructive driving by drivers who use mobile phones while driving. The many studies carried out on the same have shown that driving while using mobile phones poses a very big risk to the drivers and other people around. However, many states are still in the experimenting level while risks and accidents are constantly increasing at a very high rate (Dempsey, 2010).  Phone related accidents are at a rise in most states. The big question is ‘’ how long will it take the states to realize the risk at hand’’. Many states have argued that they not only realize the risks but are very concerned about the risks that are posed by distractive driving yet nothing is being done to reduce the risks.

Policy makers from different states and other concerned parties should enact legislation in order to reduce the potential road dangers related to the use of mobile phones. In this way, the growing evidence against wireless technology should be weighed in a bid to reduce the risks involved. Use of mobile phones while driving affects the drivers in many ways. This is because of the stress involved in the conversation. Emotional stress or other types of stress can decrease the driver awareness of what is happening on the roads and thus cause a crush or an accident.

It is ironic that in most states careless and reckless driving is illegal yet they do not enact laws to restrict use of mobile phone while driving. Drunken driving, reckless driving and driving while using a mobile phone are all distractive driving. Therefore, the States should make driving while using mobile phones illegal. In this case, the State should enact legislation that not only restrict but ban the use of mobile phones while driving. Most of the legislation proposal is still pending while use of mobile phones among drivers continues to grow (Wagener, 2011).

The Debate Over Safety

In the recent days States are acknowledging that they are cracking down on cell phone use while driving. This is in response to many different safety concerns by the same. Many studies and research carried out have shown that distractive driving from the use of cell phones contributes to 25% of the road accidents. This is because the drivers are distracted while using their phones. Hands free devices have stayed clear from the debate. However, use of the hand free devices is not safer as com-pared to cell phone. Both the free hands devices and the cell phone distract the driver while driving. Some people believe that the safest way to go is to use other devices that can transmit calls but having a conversation while driving causes a very dangerous distraction to the driver.

The question is why in today’s world technology seems to run lives. Many people actually call their phones a life line. This is probably because the phone stores important dates, phone numbers and other important information. This simply means that the mobile phone has very many positive aspects and attributes. However, more accidents in the community, societies and states are being caused using cell phones while driving. This may cause injuries, accidents and death. In this case, the debates on whether or not to enact laws that restrict use of cell phones while driving are baseless. Laws should be legislated in order to prevent and control use of cell phones while driving. Use of cell phone while driving should be banned because these drivers do not value their own lives and risk the lives of other innocent people and children (Wyllie, 2007).

Laws Banning Cell phone use while Driving

Is the debate over safety debatable?  Well, some states have banned the use of cell phones while driving, but other state still argue leave the debate on these laws pending. In an earnest attempt to prohibit the use of cell phones while driving, a solution should be found. In United States, a banning order was passed by the House of Representatives. The legislation prohibited its members from texting while driving. On July 14^th 2010, the bill S2181 was filled. This simply means that motorists in New Jersey are banned from talking or texting while driving. However, this law has not been effective in reducing the rising number of accidents caused by use of cell phones while driving. Corporations in the United States have tried to reduce these destructions while driving by pushing for serious attention on the matter. Ms. Oprah Winfrey wrote an article in the New York Times on April 2010, terming destructive driving as a’’ deadly epidemic’’. Oprah suggested that there should be tougher laws and strict enforcement of the same.

The biggest problem in many States is that the enactment of these laws is a long process, and these laws are very difficult to enforce. Similarly, economic, social, powerful sources and political resistance make it to be more difficult for many drivers to stop the use of cell phones while driving (Sturnquist, 2006).

Tips On using Cell Phone while Driving

In view of this, whether or not restrictions are imposed on driving while using mobile phones, it is clear that drivers should take precautions while using cell phones while driving. In this case, the drivers should make the calls when the car is not moving, avoid making the calls in bad weather or heavy traffic, keep their phone within reach, program frequently called numbers to avoid dialing, avoid writing messages or taking notes while driving, avoid emotional topics on the cell phones, keep the conversation short and ask passengers to take the calls for them.

Conclusion

Use of mobile phones while driving greatly impairs the driver and may cause injuries, accidents or death. The states should be aggressive and serious about enacting laws that prohibit the use of cell phones while driving as they are with drunk and reckless driving. This problem must be taken seriously by the law enforces. This is not only because there is mounting public awareness but also because of the rising cases of accidents and deaths from the same.