Phones & Driving

With everything being at the tip of our fingers with our phones, we often find ourselves distracted and overly invested with our phones not even realizing we do it. Using technology is becoming more and more common there are a lot of benefits when it comes to using cellular devices. When there is something positive it can also be used negatively. We shouldn't be able to use our phones while driving because you are far more likely to get into an accident, someone could kill you or you could kill someone else while doing it, and it is illegal to do.

It is scientifically proven that people are unable to multi-task. When you are on your phone and driving you aren't completely focused on the road leading to you crashing into someone or something. When using your phone, you lose your awareness on the road making you valuable to being in a crash. Using your phone while driving and crashing is becoming more common. Putting your phone on do not disturb or letting the person you are texting or calling know that you are about to get on the road can prevent a crash. Waiting to answer or respond to texts or notifications can wait to lose or risking your own life or someone else's is not worth it.

According to TeenSafe, 11 teens die in crashes caused by texting and driving on any given day and 2.35 million people in the United States are injured or disabled by these car crashes each year. These numbers will only increase year by year if we don't obey laws and regulations pertaining to texting and driving. Despite these number of tragedies, drivers still continue to risk their own lives and others. Even using your phone at a stop sign or at traffic light is dangerous and it should not be done. Just taking one look down at your phone could risk you your life or theirs. We might think that looking down once would be a harmless act, but it puts a strain on attention while driving. The reason why some might text, and drive is because they might have done the harmful act before and gotten away with it and that gives them the confidence in doing it over and over again. People begin to ignore that actual risk of texting and driving and do it over and over again which could ultimately lead to something fatal and dangerous.

In most states they have placed numerous laws about texting and driving and most of them could lead the person to jail time. In the state of Georgia, we have recently passed a new hands-free law, which makes it illegal to be on your phone at all even if you are just holding it. It is even illegal to text while stopped at a traffic light or if you are stuck at traffic. If caught by law enforcement, you could be fined $50 on your first offense and one point on your driver's license. The cost and points taken off increase as you keep doing it which could lead to jail time. And if you get into an accident and it ends in a fatality it could lead to charges of murder with years of jail time. You are still able to use Bluetooth or hands-free calling, but it is still recommended not to use any cellular devices at all because you are not fully focused on the road ahead of you.

In all do not risk your life or others due to a ding or buzz from your phone. Do not be the reason someone loses their own life your takeaway your life because you cannot resist the urge and be patient and wait until you are out of the car to respond or look at your phone. No one wants to be ticketed or sent to jail just because you picked up your cellular device. It is not worth it, and it can wait. We must find some self-control as it becomes harder to contain ourselves from using our phones. With ways such has turning off our phone, putting it on do not disturb or even putting your phone in the backseat.