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| Yes | 69% | 3500 votes | Total: 5105 votes | |
| No | 31% | 1605 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesThey say that using a mobile phone will give you cancer. There have been studies upon studies funded by the most generous of governments to assure us that we will not get cancer from excessive phone use. Some of you are skeptical. I for one do not know what constitutes excessive use and how they determine the breakpoint between normal usage and excessive - should an alarm come up on your phone that says, "warning, your phone use is about to become excessive, do you wish to continue, as cancer may occur...". With the usual disclaimers of course that if cancer does in fact NOT occur then the phone people are not at fault for telling you that it might.
But I digress. It does not matter whether it will cause you brain damage because, using your phone in the car is a sure way to get yourself killed, or seriously maimed, or cause injury to some innocent pedestrian or other motorist, long before you get cancer. And isn't that a relief to know you won't get cancer from phone use? Feel better now?
I can tell from 50 feet away when a driver is on the phone. They slow down (obviously the blood rush to the brain is taking vital energy from the feet on the pedals) they begin to swerve in their lane (the inner ear, the balance one, is getting a bashing from the caller)and they swear at you when you toot the horn to tell them to get serious and get off the phone or off the road - a sure indication they are losing the thread of the conversation and so now it is your fault.
But it is not funny. Using a mobile in a car is downright dangerous. And that includes hands free. The problem is not your hands, you have two of those. And two ears. No, it is your brain. Unfortunately, you only have one. And its' real busy right now, doing all that complicated driving stuff. What on earth is so important that it cannot wait five minutes until you pull up at an appropriate stop and give the caller your full and UNDIVIDED attention. But the caller is at fault too. Who wants to be on the other end of a phone when the caller yells 'Watch out, I almost hit that pensioner daring to walk across the pedestrian crossing. can't she tell I am on the phone?"
Do everyone a favor, if you realize you are talking to someone on their mobile phone whilst they are driving, insist on hanging up and talking a bit later. Please. You may even stop them getting cancer.
Learn more about this author, Reckless Eric.
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No
Driving nowadays is more hazardous than ever. As population increases, so does vehicular traffic, and motorists are as aggressive and impatient as they have always been. Talking on one's cell phone while driving has become a favorite pastime. Estimates range that between five and 10 percent of drivers are chatting on their cell phones at any given moment. Some studies suggest that cell phone use while driving, especially that of hand-held devices, is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. But should states pass laws to prohibit cell phone use by drivers? The answer should be no.
The primary argument against a cell phone ban for drivers is the redundancy of such a law. Laws already exist that prohibit distracted driving. This might entail not only talking on a cell phone, but adjusting the radio, eating a sandwich, drinking a cup of coffee, shaving or applying makeup. Better that police should enforce existing laws than the state legislatures pass new ones. Naturally police should use discretion in enforcing distracted driving laws, just as it would be ridiculous for them to pull someone over for going 36 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone.
Some, though probably very few, cell phone calls are important or even necessary on the road. Reporting an emergency qualifies, or answering the phone if you are expecting an urgent call, but have to drive somewhere anyway. A driver who gets lost may benefit considerably from listening to directions in real time, and a driver who gets caught in an unexpected traffic jam and calls his spouse or office to report that he is going to be late should not be ticketed. How dangerous is it to make a call when you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic? Certainly there are many people who abuse cell phone use, but not everyone.
A punitive approach would likely be counterproductive. Better public awareness is needed to effectively address this problem. Drivers should be encouraged to make cell phone calls before or after arriving at their destination whenever possible, and to use hands-free devices when calls are absolutely necessary.
Learn more about this author, Allan M. Heller.
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