Should Americans Be Banned From Talking On Cell Phones While Driving?

Imagine driving down the road and realizing that the oncoming vehicle is in your lane. You swerve to prevent a head-on collision and nearly miss the ditch on the right side of the road. As you pass the oncoming car you notice that the driver is talking on a cell phone and has no idea what has just occurred. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence on today’s roads--more common than women trying to apply makeup while driving, or even another driver reaching into his or her backseat for something and slowly drifting into the other lane unknowingly. This dangerous situation brings forth the question: Should Americans be banned from talking on cell phones while driving? What steps are being taken by the government to control these road hazards?

I decided to investigate to see if the number of people talking on cell phones while driving outweighed other people performing other tasks while attempting to drive. I observed ten passing cars, and seven out of ten drivers were talking on cell phones. Surprisingly, none were using headsets or even using a hands-free device. This was very alarming to me and I decided to look further into the situation to verify what legislations are being considered by the authorities to rectify this growing danger.

Network World’s Lauren Dunn writes that 45 U.S. states have legislation banning the use of cell phones while driving. Most states, however, still allow the use of hand-free headsets. Nevertheless, U.S. officials have determined that out of the 100 million cell phone users in the United States, only three percent of those Americans are on the road at any given time which means that 500,000 Americans are causing a driving hazard. Officials have concluded that while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has determined thirty percent of automobile accidents are due to driving distractions, the American Automobile Association has confirmed that two percent of those accidents are caused by drivers using cell phones. Dee Yankoskie, a spokesperson for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association says "If three percent of drivers are using phones, that clearly doesn't reach the threshold for legislation; it does emphasize the fact that drivers need to be educated on the myriad of distractions they face - from eating, changing a CD, talking to other passengers or talking on a wireless phone."(Dunn).

These statistics led me to another question: What compels these drivers who talk on cell phones, or who are distracted from other diversions from driving safely, to risk their lives and the lives of other drivers? I agree with Yankoskie that drivers should be more educated on these hazards of driving. But what causes this out-of-hand problem? One such thing that is a key factor is the new idea of multi-tasking according to New York Times writer Steve Lohr. Studies have shown that driving while trying to perform other mental tasks can impair a person’s cognitive thinking and possible hinder the visual field temporarily. Society has created a world that demands time from most Americans which causes them to multi-task in order to complete most tasks in their busy everyday lives. Lohr writes “In short, the answer appears to lie in managing the technology, instead of merely yielding to its incessant tug. The human brain, with its hundred billion neurons and hundreds of trillions of synaptic connections, is a cognitive powerhouse in many ways and then goes on to quote, a Vanderbilt University neuroscientist, Rene Marios,”But a core limitation is an inability to concentrate on two things at once.” Marios is also the director of the Human Information Processing Laboratory at Vanderbilt University. Companies have lost more revenue by having employees multi-tasking than compared to those who do not multi-task (Lohr pg. A1 (L)).

I immediately realized that the cell phone issue was much more. Cell phones are just a small part of today’s roadway hazards. With so much to do, Americans switch from task to task so much that it is hard to focus back to the original task. Working in the corporate world myself, I now realized that I, too, am required to multi-task to just be able to get all the tasks required of me on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I do understand that multi-tasking is not for everyone. There is legislation out there in effect for talking on cell phones, but the real issue was multi-tasking. I believe that more education on driving would be very helpful in providing safer roads in America. Americans need to be made aware of the downfalls of trying to multi-task while driving and the deaths it has caused in the past. You will not find any advertisements or public messages warning against multi-tasking while trying to drive on television or in magazines. Multi-tasking while driving is just like driving drunk; your impairment is hindered. Friends don’t let friends drive drunk. Friends should not allow friends to drive while multi-tasking.

I also realized that at some point I had swerved into to other lane unknowingly. I may have reached down to find a radio station on my car stereo or something caught my eye on the side of the road. I think with the advancement of technology and a more competitive job market will only cause Americans to continue multi-tasking. I still get stuck behind a slowing moving car everyday on the way to work only to find out it is one of the infamous cell phone drivers. I think as more jobs open up in the economy and more workers step into job market; there would be less need for multi-tasking. More employees means a more even distribution of workloads, so employees will not have to multi-task to ensure the each task is done in a timely manner. Every American should turn off cell phones or any other distraction while driving. There is no phone call more important than endangering the lives of other drivers.