Should drivers pay fine for talking on cell phones or texting while they drive - Essay Example

e increasingly focusing on building mobile phones into car systems, the debate surrounds around not the device being hand-held or hands-free; rather the debate is on the act of phone communication. Although some people may argue about safety regarding hands-free devices, it is the topic of conversation that can distract the attention level of drivers. However, due to the extreme importance of cell phones in modern life drivers do not heed the dangers associated with using the device while driving.

Therefore, it is necessary that laws need to be applied to discourage drivers from using cell phones. Despite the conveniences of using cell phones in modern days of communication, drivers should be fined for talking and texting while driving because doing so texting and talking increases the probability of accidents, they put lives at danger, and they are a driving distraction. Texting and talking while driving increase the probability of accidents. Let me begin by giving some statistical figures to prove my point of argument.

According to an estimation given by CDC report, every day in the United States 9 people meet with fatal accidents and 1,153 people get injured as a result of mishaps caused by a distracted driver. A driver becomes distracted when he remains busy doing activities other than driving that include talking on the cell phone or texting. A study was conducted by CDC in 2011 to analyze the reasons of distraction. It was revealed that 69 percent of U.S. drivers between the age of 18 to 64 have talked on their cell phone while driving in the 30 days prior to the study.

In Europe, it was 21 percent in UK and 59 percent in Portugal (“Distracted Driving”). According to another 2011 report by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted drives attribute towards 22 percent of injuries and 16 percent of deaths by road accidents (Trempel et al., 6). In another report published by the U.S. government, in the year 2008, 6,000 people have