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Should cell phone use be banned while driving?

Yes, cell phone use while driving a motor vehicle should definitely be banned. It just makes sense. How many times have you used your home phone within the confines of your house, got so into the conversation or lost your train of lthought because of the phone conversation? Did you not become distracted from what was going on inside your house? Do we really want to mix a phone conversation with the ability to carry out driving a motor vehicle, which often requires our undivided attention? Those are the real questions that we need to ask ourselves with respect to the need to ban cell phone use while driving.

There have been numerous studies and evidence given to prove that talking on a cell phone while driving is a proven hazard. It distracts your attention from the road, and from other drivers, impairing you and setting you up for a possible unsafe situation. Having lived overseas in a country where using a cell phone, eating, and doing make-up, while driving, are driving violation, I can truly appreciate the reasoning behind it. The added distraction can and does impair you from being a defensive and cautious driver, and more importantly, it just makes sense to not take part in anything that can even briefly distract you from safely driving a car.

Furthermore, you may truly believe you are the best driver on the road, but what about the other people who may not be as cautious? If you choose to distract your attention from the road even for a brief moment as you choose to take a cellphone call or make one, it may distract you to the point that you are not paying attention to how other people are driving. This temporary distraction may prevent you from forecasting what another driver is doing, and cause you to be part of an accident that may have been avoidable had you been fully aware. Driving accidents often happen in a split second, which is why your attention and focus needs to be on one activity during the time you are in your vehicle.

Also, I recall from working in the hospital, several tragic vehicle accidents that were caused by someone using a cell phone while driving. I mean just think that those types of fatalities could have been prevented if the person chose to pull over and make that one call, but instead changed the course of many lives. Even though hands-free devices, when using a cell phone are encouraged, I know our base (where our family is stationed) preaches all the time that even using a hands-free device can and does contribute to impairment and distractions while driving, and they stress to us all the time that it is better to just pull over and take the time to protect yourself as well as others who are on the road, make your call, or call whomever called you back.

The question is, why take the chance with your life or anyone else's by engaging in an activity that is proven to heighten your risk of being in a motor vehicle accident? If you value your life and the life of others that may be inside your vehicle or other drivers on the road, then, it would definitely help you choose wisely.

Learn more about this author, Jan Castagnaro.
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