A number of states have introduced laws banning driving while talking on a cell phone. Yet, many people believe that these laws are unfair and that the many responsible drivers (who can seem to drive and talk) are being punished for the few irresponsible ones who cannot. What is your view? Do you think your driving is influenced by talking on a cell phone? Do you think the laws are justified?
I do believe that the laws are justified in regards to banning talking on a cell phone. When I was younger, I thought it was no big deal but now I do see the gravity of the situation. This can be a life or death situation, if ever you find yourself in a situation which requires all your attention and fast thinking to prevent or get away from an accident. When I did talk on my phone before, I found that there are times when I would be so focused on the conversation that my driving runs on autopilot – which is harder to attend to serious situations or react to accidents whatever. Your attention does get divided when multitasking while driving. If you weren’t driving a vehicle and not capable of killing someone with something you are in control of, then it is a different situation. For people who say they have no problem, fine – but the majority of people do. In a study – blah blah – they found a meaningful difference on reaction time between distracted driving vs undistracted driving even when just waiting at an intersection – what more if it was a situation that requires all your attention and focus. Article- driving is already a complicated multitasking activity – if someone drives while doing more other things, their ability to drive or do those other things are both degraded. AND for the people who say they have no problem with driving and talking – there are a lot of people who also say that they can drink and drive with no problem – just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. You are responsible for everyone’s safety on the road too and since you know other people can’t handle their liquor like you do – do you want your life on their hands – and even if you think you can drive fine while drunk or while talking … what happens if there is an accident and you could have prevented it if your attention was on the road completely. What if it was someone’s life – should we test every single person for their ability to talk and drive and say you can talk and drive but you can’t .. every single person? and if we don’t test every single person, would you feel comfortable going out there knowing that there are people who can’t do what you think you can do yourself even in the face of danger blah blah blah
Hurwitz, D. S., Heaslip, K. P., Schrock, S. D., Swake, J., Marnell, P., Tuss, H., & Fitzsimmons, E. (2013). Implications of Distracted Driving on Start-Up Lost Time for Dual Left-Turn Lanes. Journal Of Transportation Engineering, 139(9), 923-930. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)TE.1943-5436.0000569