Why Using a Cell Phone During Driving Should Be Banned - Term Paper Example

Using a Cell Phone Should Be Banned during Driving: The technology that we attain provides us with a large number of benefits and advantages. It makes tasks easy. However, their use and abuse is largely subjective in nature and depends on the users and the way they use it, as well as when they use it and in what manner. Various technological means have been attained over the past years, such as GPS, stereos in the car, mobile phones. Mobile phone is no exception and it is a ubiquitous device in modern times that is part of every house, every pocket, every building, yet its misuses are millions and dangerous at the same time. Mobile phone usage while driving is a serious concern in modern day. Many incidents get reported due to the reason that people drive and text or use the cell at the same time. The usage of every device should be such that it is in no conflict with the human safety. The modern day life has become extremely fast and demanding and traveling in present day and every individual travels between parts of the city, they aim at utilizing the time by talking over issues which might be pending or informing people about their arrival or action of plans while on the roads. While in old times the means of distraction were more of manual, in modern times the major source of distraction is the medium of digital communication known as mobile phone. Fatalities of this action are severe and large number of people loses their lives as a result of it every year. For this reason, strong debates are stirred across the world and in different cities for bringing about a regulation that directly bans the usage of mobile phone while on the road. Comparisons Drawn: While lots of stir is being created by this issue, and considering the high rate of casualties suffered every year, lots of research was inducted into this process and it was evaluated that the rates of casualties are as high as driving while drunk. It is equally dangerous and unsafe to drive using cell phone. No one can deny or advocate against driving in state of being under influence of alcohol. The studies have shown similar dangers and threats, thereby they provide a strong reason why cell phone usage should be banned during driving (Strayer, Drews et.al). The horrifying part of the fact is that the incidents pose threat not only to the individual driving but those on the road, in other cars, who without any wrong doing suffer due to the mistake of one. Hence it is a severe condition and therefore has caught attention and being asked for banning of cell phone all over while on the highways. Reasons: Distraction: The human mind is built in such a manner that it can handle one thing at time. So are the hands. They can serve a purpose only one at a time. If driving, an individual is bound to concentrate or lend the hands to driving. In such cases there is no margin for performing any other activity as such which also includes mobile usage. Human mind is not adapted to multi tasking, while driving the driver is bound to focus his mind and eyes on the road, the surroundings and all the necessary factors which ought to be taken in to consideration for the purpose of safe driving. It is a great source of distraction and with mind occupied someplace else, it leaves the body helpless and in a state of paralysis with mind and sensors being stuck in the place where the voice and events are coming from. Threat to Life: Death is not the only casualty suffered in such mishaps. Often it leads to handicapped life, lose of property, damage to the young ones on the road, the passer bys and many other possibilities. The Need for Discouraging such Practices: With the technology becoming so advanced that everything is becoming portable, vehicles these days are fully loaded with all the electronic and digital equipment. This includes the cell phones, the display screens. These car users, while in the rush aim at saving few minutes and check the emails, talk to their acquaintances on the phone while driving and result in serious damages of various kinds. All these alarming facts and conditions have prompted the local government in United States of America to bring about a bill that shuns the usage of mobile phone. Agencies like National Safety are quite active in this regard and want life protection and value and thereby strong and immediate ban on the cell phone usage during driving on the road. Public communities and social workers from various segments have supported this ruling and want it implemented. In this regard Highway Authority Surveys are being conducted to determine the impact of cell phone usage and the subsequent accidents due to it. The surveys conducted over past few years show the number of life losses in thousands (Jeffords). Considering the severity of the case, AT&T initiated a research and investigation in to the field to determine the possible consequences of using cell phone while driving. The findings were alarming and termed mobile phone usage a direct threat to the safety of the driver himself, the surrounding people and valuables and property. The research conducted took into account all the basics and small factors which may contribute to the damages. These findings also targeted the average talk time of drivers on the road, while some would talk just for a moment or less than a minute to convey a point or important message, others would hold the phone to the ears the entire journey just to shorten the drive or complete the tasks which would take place in the office (Lissy, Cohen et.al). Some people defend its usage through the usage of hands free devices. No doubt hands would be free with that but the mind still remains occupied, and many incidents have been reported where the hands were on steering yet with mind occupied and being busy on the phone, resulted in casualties and accidents on the road. Researchers and specialists on human emotions have termed that the responses get deviated when talking to other person and mind gets absorbed in that area with compromise on the sight at front which is the road in this case. In the United States as many as 38 states have approved the law and plan this to be implemented for the purpose of drivers’ safety, as well as the safety of people on road. To a report as many as three thousand incidents were reported in the last year (2011) all of them of severe nature and were attributed to the cause of usage of mobile phone while driving. However implementing this law has odds against it because every driver that is on the road has a cell phone in his pocket and hand, and it has become a custom and habit of indulging in cell phone conversation while on the road. Therefore the habit needs to be broken down first before expecting any high value positives from the task. The Bills being passed in senate recently require majority of the states to approve this bill for banning this device usage while the car is on the go. So far considerable progress has been made but it is not sufficient enough to enable activating the law right away. Plenty of Bad Drivers on the Road: It is often being said that large numbers of drivers on the road drive poorly. If they are given with a tool and machine as lethal as mobile phone, their driving skills would definitely deteriorate a large degree and would make them further prone to accidents on the road (Cruz). The Usage of Cell Phone for GPS Purposes: Many critics of the idea of banning the mobile phone advocate the usage by affiliating it to its advantage with regard to the track mapping and global positioning system. The remedy to this can be sorted out if each of the vehicles is equipped with a GPS device and screen. However, this process can be a lengthy one and would take some while before getting completed. Transportation agency can be of some use in this regard and they can help to contribute towards the GPS device enabling function in each of the vehicle on the road. Conclusion: Considering the damages and threats posed due to driving with usage of cell phone, it can be safely said that this device should be kept distant from vehicles on the run and the world, its roads; highways should be made a safer place to live. Legislation should be passed at the earliest and the current year should be made a low casualty rate in terms of the road accidents through means of curbing on the usage of cellular phone for all kinds of activities. For discouraging such practices, heavy fines should be imposed in the first place along with licenses confiscation and other punitive measures. Works Cited Cruz, Gilbert. Distracted Driving: Should Talking, Texting Be Banned? 24 Aug 2009. Web. 19 Nov 2012 . Jeffords, James. M. Distracted Driving. Govt. Vermont: U.S Department of Transportation, 2010. Print. Lissy, Karen S., et al. Cellular Phone Use While Driving. Massachusetts : Harvard Center for Risk Analysis , 2000. Print. Strayer, David L., Frank A. Drews and Dennis J. Crouch. A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver. Utah: Department of Psychology, 2006. Print. Read More