Should it be illegal to drive while talking to the cell phone without a headphone device - Essay Example

Should it be illegal to drive while talking to the cell phone without a headphone device? Should it be illegal to drive while talking to the cell phone without a headphone device?Problem Statement:Cell phones have often been in the discussions surrounding motor vehicle safety and safe driving. Distracted driving, as it is called, involves distraction of the driver, usually through usage of electronic gadgets such as cell phones. Texting, calling or even simply using smart phones or cell phones can prove dangerous and life-threatening, not only for the driver but for every passenger and/or pedestrian present in the same setting.

With so many lives at stake, safety is a critical issue for the authorities, which is why it is advocated that, unless a headphone device is used, usage of cell phones while driving must be prohibited by making it illegal.Assertion 1:Usage of cell phones while driving is a leading cause of deaths and road accidents.Evidence Pathos:Drivers who text or talk while driving, or in any other gesture, which involves glances away from the road are more likely to have a car accident (American Automobile Association, 2013).

Evidence Logos:Clearly it is evident that usage of cell phone while driving increases risk of accidents.Evidence Pathos:Utts (2014) has pointed out that, individuals who text and talk on the cell phone while driving also have a greater probability of engaging in risky behavior.Evidence Pathos:A white paper report from National Safety Council (2014) suggests that more than half fatal car accidents that took place in the year 2011 involved the cell phone as a major crash factor.Evidence Logos:Cell phone involvement has, therefore, shown to be fatal as it threatens life of not only the driver but also of other individuals.

TransitionSince the cell phone involvement has been a leading cause of deaths and car accidents, law making is required to curb the usage of cell phones while driving. Assertion 2:Law making all over the world have taken steps in order to restrict or completely prohibit the use of cell phones while driving.Evidence Pathos:Others, however, have only prohibited the use of hand held devices which implies that headphone devices can still be used (Hansen, 2013).Evidence Logos:Although some may argue that a headphone set can also provide distraction to the driver, it is probably less likely to engage the hands of the driver thereby reducing the risk of an accident through distraction.

Evidence Logos:Effective law making and prohibition efforts are needed to halt the usage of cell phones while driving so as to reduce the risks and threat to human life.Evidence Pathos:In the USA, road safety and motor vehicle laws differ for each state requiring more planning efforts to implement a standard rule regarding cell phone usage (Michon, 2014).Evidence Logos:Conversing, texting, talking, and dialing using cell phones are a few activities that can have dangerous consequences that risk the safety of car passengers.

Evidence Logos:As an effort to protect lives, driving while using cell phones should be made illegal unless a hands free device is being used as it can help to keep the hands unengaged.Evidence Logos:Banning cell phone usage may help respond to safety concerns in the context of roads, considering the amount of fatalities and car accidents occurring as a result of cell phone involvement and distraction.ReferencesCognitive Distraction: Something to Think About. (2014) (1st ed.). Retrieved from http://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cognitive-Distraction_AAAFTS-Research-Compendium.

pdfCrashed Involving Cell Phones. (2014) (1st ed.). Retrieved from http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Documents/NSC-Under-Reporting-White-Paper.pdfHanson, D. (2014). Cell Phones and Traffic Fatalities. SUNY Potsdam. Retrieved 14 June 2014, from http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/DrivingIssues/1059144296.html#.U5v2FXKSwukMichon, K. (2014). Cell Phones, Texting, and Driving: State Laws. Nolo.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014, from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/cell-phones-texting-driving-state-laws-29774.

htmlUtts, J. (2014). Seeing through statistics (1st ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.