The debate over whether or not drivers should be allowed to use their cellphones while behind the wheel has been a very popular topic throughout recent years. With factual evidence to support both claims, people seem to be pretty evenly split when it comes to which side of the debate that they support. I personally believe that when driving, drivers should NOT be allowed to use their cellphones in any way, shape, or form. Driving while distracted by you cellphone is too dangerous and causes too many injuries and casualties to be allowed.

First of all, when you are driving and you have to perform all of your tasks for the phone manually, you are creating a distraction for yourself. This takes your attention away from the road and increases your chance of causing a wreck. According to the NSC, there are 1.6 million crashes and 390,000 injuries each year caused by cell phone usage while driving. This means that 390,000 of people's "loved-ones" were injured in a crash caused by texting and driving.

What if it was your "loved-one" that was about to become part of the statistic? What if it was you that was about to become part of the statistic?

Now, you might be thinking "Some cars now have the ability to connect the phone to the speakers via bluetooth, which gives the ability to talk on the phone while not being in contact." If you were thinking this, you would be right. This does indeed reduce the risks caused by holding the phone and doing everything "hands-on." But, you are still going to be taking attention away from the road and putting it towards the phone when you give a command or you make a phone call. Also, not every car has this feature, therefore some people would get distracted trying to come up with a solution of how to talk on the phone without being in contact with the phone.

What most people don't realize is that the solution is right in front of their faces- "Wait until you aren't driving."

Luckily, governments are realizing the dangers of distracted driving, as 20 U.S. states and territories have passed "hands-free" laws, which are laws that prohibit being in contact with your phone while driving. Even with this being in effect, there are still going to be people that will continue to text, make calls, and more while driving. There will still be injuries and deaths caused by distracted driving from cell phones. This is why I am a firm believer that the usage of a cell phone should be completely prohibited in any shape, form, or fashion while driving. It can wait.