Phones & Driving

In 2018, 77% of the people in the United States own a smartphone. It is no secret that everyone is constantly checking their phone whether it be for games, music or social media. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 660,000 drivers use their cell phones daily while behind the wheel. People are even willing to put their lives and/or the lives of others on the line all for a notification popping up on their screen. Using a phone while operating a vehicle should continue to be prohibited. It is a game of life and death to not only the driver, but the people around them as well.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or (NHTSA), classifies using a phone while driving as "distracted driving." In 2017 alone there were 3,166 fatalities related to distracted driving (NHTSA). Even if you're lucky to survive an accident due to distracted driving, there is still a risk of major injuries. According to teensafe. com, "2.35 million people in the US are injured or disabled by car crashes every year. More than 330,000 of these crashes that cause severe injury are caused by texting and driving," (teensafe. com). This proves that phones have a key part in many accidents. They could've been typing a short response or reading a paragraph. The fact is that they were distracted instead of paying attention to the road. The NHTSA states, "sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed," (NHTSA). In conclusion, by cancelling out the use of phones/electronic devices while driving, the risk of injury/death is greatly reduced.

While texting and driving can put you at risk of bodily harm, it can also cost you some jail time and put your wallet in harm's way. Anyone who has been in a car wreck knows how expensive it can be. Not to mention any medical bills, lawsuits, tickets/fines, etc. In Georgia just getting pulled over for texting and driving can cost you $150 and a point on your driver license (drivinglaws. org). Not to mention if you actually collide with another person and seriously injure them, you may face serious jail time. "If you are texting while driving and you kill someone, you can expect to be charged with vehicular homicide or manslaughter with an aggravating factor. The crime can potentially carry a penalty as high as any other manslaughter charge that arises from a gross indifference to the safety of others. It could be as high as 20 years in some circumstances," (drivinglaws. org). The consequences are just not worth it. Keeping your attention on the road and the other people around you is the only thing you should worry about while driving. In conclusion, texting and driving accidents when they aren't fatal can still get you into a lot of trouble.

Although texting and driving puts you at risk of fines, jail time, or even DEATH, there are other alternatives; like the "Hands-Free Driving" that persuades people into buying phone stands for their cars. With the phone stand, the phone is either at eye-level below the rear view mirror or down to the side either on your left or right. By simply moving the phone to a different angle, people think that it's simply going to reduce the risk of texting and driving. The "Old" way of texting and driving was to have the phone in a position where your eyes weren't even near the road, but now the "new and improved" texting and driving now has your peripherals as your safeguard from motor accidents. The main issue with "distracted driving" specifically texting and driving was not that your hands not being on the wheel was causing accidents; it was that people's eyes were on their phone screen instead of the road. "Hands-Free" texting and driving only solves a minor part of a major problem. Before "Hands-Free '' texting and driving was more of a sharpened skill because of the task of averting your hand(s) and eyes to type a message all without running into oncoming traffic or running into anyone else. In short, "hands-free" isn't a safe alternative to texting and driving.

The prohibition of ANYONE using a cellular device while driving, for ANYTHING, will reduce the risk of distracted driving accidents, and the consequences of said accidents, (fines/fees, jail time, and even the ultimate price, life). In conclusion, people should continue to not be allowed to use a phone while driving, so put that phone down and focus on the road ahead. Rather have them wait for a response and make it safe than never make it at all.