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Cell phone users are a proven danger on our highways. A recent study found that 80% of accidents and 65% of near-accidents involved some form of inattention, and that the most common form of inattention was cell phone use.

Studies have shown that while dialing was found to be the most common cause of crashes (one has to take his eyes off the road to dial) the simple act of talking on a cell phone, even on a headset, was a proven distraction and caused accidents. Cell phone users are four times more likely than non-cell phone users to be involved in an accident. In these studies, the conversation itself was as distracting as dialing or calling up messages.

Personally, I have experienced this on a regular basis. If I'm being cut off in traffic, or if I narrowly avoid a wreck, I can be absolutely sure that the person responsible is talking on a cell phone. I regularly check, just after an incident, to see if the person is on a cell phone, and sure enough, in almost every case, they are. It infuriates me, someone who can't even afford a cell phone, that a cell phone user could endanger my safety, the safety of my children, of my vehicle, and my financial well being, to have a conversation which can wait until later, which they have absolutely no right to have while in transit.

Some states, such as New York and Connecticut have banned cell phone use while driving, and several other states have legislation in the works. While many people call this "totalitarian", I do not. My safety and the safety of other drivers, especially child passengers, are far more important than a phone call. One fact is certain; there is no phone call that can't wait until you can pull over from the highway. If the phone call is that crucial, you can find a stopping place, and take the call, then continue on your way. None of us is in so big a hurry that it's worth endangering other people's lives.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Claerr.
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