Smartphones ,like every other piece of technology,have been a two edged sword. They have fused to us. They are the ultimate tool. They have saved lives. They have also caused many deaths. One study done by teensafe. com in 2019 found 26% of car crashes are related to cell phones. Most of these crashes were strictly because of texting. In order to limit deaths and make roads safer,handheld devices that distract the driver from the road should be prohibited while driving.

The first problem is that phones take up a lot of focus. Humans by design can only do one thing at once and this can be proven by a very simple experiment. Try to pat your stomach and rub your head around in a clockwise manner. This is difficult because every time you attempt to multitask,your brain is really switching back and forth repeatedly between the two tasks. This is very taxing on the brain. This presents the problem with texting and driving. when attempting to text and drive,you take attention off of driving putting the driver and everyone else around them in great danger.

Another problem is that holding a phone in your hand physically impedes on the mobility of the driver. In every driver's manual it distinctly states that every driver should place both hands on the steering wheel. If you don't have both hands on the steering wheel,you are much more likely to be unprepared for the fast decisions you will have to make as there is much less traction on the steering wheel. This also forces you to make a greater effort in order to move the steering wheel.

Some argue that the use of phones has become essential to the average driver and that both activities require so much time that they must overlap on each other's time. I would agree with those people. I would say that the solution to the problem in that case are to only take away the use of handheld devices and allow the use of artificial intelligence,such as siri and alexa,and wireless headsets.

The problem of accidents due to handheld devices has been going on way too long. Awearness was not raised enough and people became complacent. I said before that 26% of car crashes happen because of phones,but the truth is that even 1% is too much. We can raise laws in order to stop this trend,but the truth is that this can only truly be diminished on an individual level through positive peer pressure and peer accountability. This means it start with you. lets make it cool to stay safe.