Statistics show that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens. Why is this? Many answers to this question come to mind, among them, inexperience, immaturity, intoxication, and cell phone usage.
Most of these are old news, but cell phone usage is a new and worrisome issue. As ownership of cellular devices spreads, they become more and more a regular part of everyday life.
Everyone uses their mobile phones everywhere, so why should behind the wheel be an exception? Weren’t they originally called car phones and intended for use specifically while driving between land lines?
Though cell phones were indeed invented to use while driving, many people now worry about the safety of this activity. Can teens – or anyone for that matter – handle the distraction of using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle?
How much multi-tasking is too much? How dangerous is it to talk, hold a phone, or text while driving?
“I’ll talk on my cell phone,” says high school senior, Shelby Shaw, but she thinks that texting while driving is “just asking for problems.” Shaw points out that you can’t really concentrate on what’s going on around you while you’re trying to text, whereas mere talking leaves a free hand for the steering wheel and a pair of eyes for the road.
Sophomore Brianna Alcox, who is currently learning to drive, predicts that once she has her license, she will most likely use her cell phone while driving, although she admits that it is “probably dangerous” to do so. Alcox believes that cell phone usage while driving is “OK if you use a headset.”
However, Alcox went on to bring up another very important point. Even if a driver’s eyes are on the road, the driver’s brain “can’t fully concentrate” on driving if it is also partially occupied with a distant conversation.
But really, do we need to use full brain power to drive a car? Automatic cars especially, require little talent to manage after good driving habits are initially built. Simultaneous talking and driving doesn’t seem such a difficult task.
Apparently, executing these two actions at once is trickier than we think. Recent Allstate Foundation statistics reveal that multitasking doubles the risk of an accident.
There are many who believe just talking, let alone texting, while driving is highly dangerous. In fact, the use of hand-held cell phones while driving has been made illegal in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Many of the states in the United States have considered laws banning or limiting talking on a phone while driving, but most of them have been dropped. New York and Washington, D.C., are currently among the few places in the U.S. to ban hand-held cell phone usage by drivers.
It is currently legal to use a cellular phone while driving in Utah. The Utah Highway Patrol does recommend “common sense in the use of these devices.”
Drivers are urged to take safety precautions such as dialing the phone while the vehicle is not in motion, learning to operate a cell phone without looking at it, keeping calls short, not taking notes while driving. In general, the message is. Never allow a phone conversation to distract you from driving.