Should drivers of automobiles be prohibited from using cellular phones

Cell Phones

CELLULAR PHONES and DRIVING

Introduction and Thesis Statement: Cellular phones offer tremendous convenience as well as being important for personal safety in many situations. Cell phones also provide recreational diversions such as games and remote online Internet access. Many people use their cell phones to multi- task while driving, whether because of boredom or to accomplish work-related tasks while driving. However, as cell phone use became more common, the simultaneous act of driving while using a cell phone has been implicated as a cause of many vehicular accidents. New York was the first state to prohibit operating a cell phone without a hands-free device except for emergency calls; since then, other states have followed suit.

The argument has been made that cell phone use while driving should be prohibited altogether and on a national basis because of the evidence that cell phone conversations actually increase the risk of accidents as much as driving while intoxicated and that hands-free devices do little to change that increased risk.

Discussion: Driving safely is a responsibility that requires complete attention because of the potential for causing serious bodily injury, even death, in addition to significant property damage associated with motor vehicle accidents. For that reason, legislators in many states have proposed prohibiting cell phone use while driving, reasoning that anything that distracts drivers' attention is an unnecessary danger to the public. That argument makes a lot of sense but opponents of the cell phone ban argue that, by the same token, legislators should consider banning eating while driving and even having a conversation with a passenger sitting next to the driver. They argue that the requirement for hands-free devices is already sufficient regulation.

However, the basis for prohibiting cell phones actually goes a lot further than a simple comparison of cell phone use by drivers and every other possible driving distraction. Specifically, the most recent neurological evidence suggests that talking on a cell phone is actually much more of a distraction than talking to someone in person.

Apparently, the human brain uses entirely different mechanisms to conduct in-person conversations from the mechanisms used to conduct in-person conversations. Therefore, it is the act of having a conversation with someone who is not present that is the problem rather than the physical act of manipulating the phone keypad. Opponents still object to the imposition of such restrictions and a violation of personal freedoms.