Drivers Should Be Limited As To When They Can Use Their Phones While Driving

Drivers who are distracted by their phone while driving have an increased risk of crashing. Crashes affect both the crasher and any possible crashing victims. Everything from physical pain to emotional pain as well as financial pain can be felt after a crash. 3,287 deaths happen every day due to fatal car crashes. On average, 9 of these fatalities are related to distracted driving. Due to the inability to test if a crash was due to distracted driving, it is believed that the recorded number of distracted driving incidents is greatly under-recorded.

Over 80% of drivers admit to not paying attention to the road while they are doing blatantly hazardous behaviors while driving. The listed activities are not always the driver interacting with their phone, however it is safe to assume that interacting with their phone is one of the many hazardous activities these drivers admitted to doing. Distracted driving is now considered to be the "new drunk driving" since it follows the same psychological pattern. With recent studies of phone addiction showing some of the same signs as drug addiction, people are having a harder time ignoring their phone. It is no coincidence that car crashes are the number one killer of teens in the U.s and that 16-19 year olds have a three times higher chance to be involved in a fatal crash than any other age group while studies show that teens and younger children are the most addicted to their phones.

While it is dangerous to be interacting with your phone while driving some people have no choice in the matter. Reasons for this can range from work related texts or phone calls to family matters. Some states are trying what is called a "hands free law" that makes it illegal for a driver to hold their phone while they are driving. It also states that a driver cannot read or watch videos on their phone while driving. Because of this law there have been multiple accessories made that allow drivers to mount their phones in their car so that they can send voice messages or speech to text messages. The law along with the accessories allow these types of drivers to access their phones, though very limited, and keep up to date with their important concerns.

The hands free law and the accessories could make the open roads a little safer for everybody while allowing people to keep their phones in their car but it is important to remember that no matter how many laws are put into place, people will still continue to abuse them and accadences will still happen. It comes down to the individual and how properly educated they are and whether or not they can mentaly handle a responsibility like driving.