Read the following article and write a thoughtful response.
How plausible is this new proposed legislation? Apparently, accidentents due to distracted drivers is becoming more of an epidemic than DUI/DWI accidents. How willing would you be to adhere to this law? Explain the pros and cons involved.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/13/us/ntsb-cell-phone-ban/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
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19 comments:
This seems to be a controversial issue, and I can see why people are split about this. Personally, I am more against it than for it, however not entirely. I do agree that texting while driving offers a huge distraction and hinders driving abilities and alter reaction time, all of that, however people do deserve to have a cell phone in their car. What if an accident, or complete emergency occurs? That affected individual needs to have a device to contact authorities, or whom ever else they might have to. Also, banning 'Blue Tooth' devices and hands free electronics, is just as plausible as banning having passengers in your care: unethical. When speaking on a hands free device, you are talking while driving, however driving with both hands. This is a much safer alternative for driving with my hand, or none, while answering a text or holding your phone. This is the as having people in your pretty much, which is kind of stupid in my opinion. They call it hands free for a reason, and if you cannot talk on an ear piece and drive at the same time, your driving skills could probably use some work.
There are the pros and cons for driving with stuff in your hands. I can understand why they would want to pass this legislation because if your hands are being occupied with holding stuff, than yeah, you’re obviously increasing your risk for an accident. If you don’t have both hands on the wheel, it’s going to be harder to drive and you’ll be delayed as well if you plan on turning your wheel quickly and what not. Also if you’re busy on the phone than you’ll definitely be distracted, so that’s another reason why I do agree this law should be passed. However, I also see the cons for passing this law. I honestly don’t believe there is any way to enforce this law. Do they actually plan on having police officers everywhere, looking into everyones car? Yeah, I doubt it. Not only that, but let’s say I’m busy on the phone and I see a cop. I’ll just put the phone down for that brief second. So, basically this law won’t be enforced. Also I don’t think its fair that if you’re driving, you can’t have at least one hand off the wheel to let’s say make a very important phone call. I think it’s ridiculous that you’d have to go off to a side road to make the phone call, because let’s say you’re in a rush, that’s extremely unfair. I understand why they plan on passing this law, but I don’t think it’ll work.
I do partly agree with banning all phones from the car. I think it is a huge distraction and as a new driver I feel that I need to be constantly alert and I don’t know how people don’t crash on their phones. Also I do have a built in phone in my car which is not distracting at all, it is only used for emergencies. However, I do this a Bluetooth or anything along those lines should be okay. They are not distracting and are exactly like talking to someone in the car. It doesn’t take your focus away from driving or your hands off of the wheel. I understand where they are coming from in trying to protect people and keep the roads safe but I think it would be better suited to put more effort into stopping the people who still use their actual phones in the car and allow the hands free to be legal.
I don't think they should ban cell phones completely from driving. Talking on blue tooth or on speaker phone can be related to talking to someone in your passenger seat. I think there are more severe problems on the road than just driving with blue tooth, such as parents smoking in the car with children or turning around when a child is crying. GPS can be distracting because you have to constantly look at it to check if you are going in the right direction. People are very good at multitasking so driving with a cell phone in your lap or a blue tooth in your ear is easy for New Yorkers to balance on top of their crazy schedules. Passing this bill will cause a precedent in the future. If they want us to keep our hands free then they will have to glue our hands to the wheel because people not only drink and munch on food while they drive, they also search through bags, get ready for work, or change the radio station. It's not just the cell phones that are distracting; it's everything on the road on top of it.
The whole cell phone use in cars issue is really difficult to resolve. If it is 100% banned, this will make driving remarkably safer for the driver, passengers, and other drivers. With drivers having full focus on the road when they drive, the number of accidents that occur because of cell phone use would diminish. However, it seems almost unfair to cut people off from the outside world completely by banning cell phone use. There are so many “what ifs to that scenario…” What if my family needs me? What if I need to make an emergency call? What if I get attacked and have to call 911? Cell phones ensure safety to drivers and comfort in knowing they can easily have contact with people if needed. On the other hand, you can argue that this person can simply pullover or wait until they reach their final destination to make this call or text. That seems fair.
Here what should happen… texting while driving should be illegal 100% because it is like driving while blind folded, which is crazy to do. I don’t think phone calls should be 100% banned. Any hands-free system, such as speaker phone or Bluetooth, should be completely fine. It is when people have to dial their phone or search through their contacts where they get into accidents. Voice commands should be utilized in these scenarios. Again, cell phone use in cars is a difficult topic to completely fix, but banning it 100% is not the solution.
My opinion on completely banning cell phone usage in the car varies. I believe having the actual cell phone in the car is very distracting, due to texting. However, I believe Bluetooth or hands free should be allowed. Devices along the lines of hands free are no different from having someone in the passenger seat of the car. So long as the device allows the driver to keep his/her focus on the road and hands on the wheel, it should be legal.
I think that completely banning cell phones from cars wouldn’t be the best solution. I definitely believe that people shouldn’t talk on there phone while in the car unless they have an earpiece. But many people say that if you have an earpiece you are still distracted because you are in a conversation. Having an earpiece is basically the same thing as having a conversation with people in the car. What’s next, people are going to ban other people in the car. We are never going to prevent distracted driving no matter how many laws there are. I feel that is the persons fault if they get into an accident due to using a phone, but some people have great awareness even when their using a phone. The reason there are accidents are because of the stupid people who don’t know how to drive in the first place and then pick up a phone to make their driving skills worse. Phones should not be banned completely but you shouldn’t be aloud to use them up to your ear.
I believe that cell phone usage should be banned from cars. If it’s not an emergency, there’s no need to use your phone in the car. Texting “Hey” to your friend can wait until you get to your destination. If the call or text is really that important, pull off onto the side of the road. I even believe that hands free or Bluetooth cell phones can be a major distraction. Many people argue that using a hands free cell phone is like talking to a person in the car. Even though I have never used a cell phone or hands free device in a car, I feel as though it might be more difficult and distracting then talking to someone in the car. Therefore, I would never think to use a cell phone while driving, especially being a new driver. No call is that important and I don’t think it would be easy to follow this law.
I do agree with NTSB that this law must be accompanied with educational programs and strict enforcement, in order for this law to have an impact. Currently, there are many states that have laws both banning cell phone and/or texting, however; not many people follow these laws and it appears as thought many people are not ticketed for using cell phones.
Some of the pros involved with this law is that it may help to protect drivers and prevent less accidents since people will be less distracted with their cell phones. Some cons of this law is that some people will still try to text or talk on the phone, but more discreetly, which could eventually cause more accidents. For example, instead of texting at eye level, a person may try to text with the cell phone in their lap so the police won’t see it. However, this will cause the driver to be looking down more often, causing them to be more distracted and thus causing more accidents.
I have a split opinion on this proposed legislation. Although i think it would make driving safer if there was a penalty for texting or using your cell phone, i dont think bluetooth or handsfree devices shoul be banned,especially if such handsfree programs the come with the car don't get banned, that doesn't make sence to me.
I think getting rid of texting and drving could cut down on driving accidents per year, but banning handsfree devices seem rediculous. This would esentially be the same as saying car passengers are not allowed to talk.
While I agree with the idea of the purposed bill, I find its implication comical. There is currently a ban on both in-car texting and phone call usage in cars while driving and its adherence can be described as 'loose' if best. If the government wants to create a bill that, on paper, bans all in-car cell phone use while behind the wheel, then so be it. It will get ignored and be enforced as minimally as in-car texting is at the moment. My solution to cell phone use while driving to prevent possible accidents: self-driving cars.
I believe that texting while driving should be banned, but hands-free devices and calling should be acceptable. People who text while driving aren't only distracted with what they want to say, but are actually looking away from then road to look at their phone. With calling, you can put it on speaker and still have both hands on the wheel. Also, how can you enforce the law? Are the cops going to say, "Oh I saw you texting?" there's no proof. Will people be falsely charged? It’s just not a good idea.
I am sort of half and half on this. I mean it's smart, but completely banning cell phones in all is stupid. Hands free is okay. Texting shouldn't be allowed. If you need to make a phone call and put it on speaker, that should be fine. Banging the whole use of cell phones would be rediculous though, because on long road trips and stuff, you need to make phone calls sometimes to people to where your going. So overall texting maybe should be banned, but not the whole cell phone use.
being on your cell phones while driving is distracting for most people. Many people are unable to handle doing two things at once. espeically driving and holding the phone in one ear. talking or texting while driving shouldnt be allowed in NY state we have a law against texting and talking while driving although it may not stop people completey. hands free devices make it easier for people to talk and drive. The number of accidents caused from texting and driving have increased. to completely ban texting or talking while driving still wont completely prevent it from happening. people will still continue to do it. if you really want to get through to others you have to crack down on catching them
I think it would be nice if we could get these laws past, but i think i would be too difficult to enforce. How could you stop total cell phone use in a car? To do so you would have to restrict other things that could be equally as distracting. Talking to backseat passangers can be equally as distracting, and you know they arent going to ban that. Realistically it would probably save alot of lives if this went through, but even if it does, i think it is a futile effort.
I don't have a solid opinion on this yet. It has many advantages and disadvantages. Yes, it has potential to reduce the number of accidents by forcing drivers to pay attention to the road more. However, with smartphones, our phone is used not only for calls and text, but more as a personal computer. If a driver is lost and needs directions, they could simply go to their map application on their phone, and get the directions they need. And because developers know how these apps are going to be used, you can safely use it while driving. However, preventing car accidents trumps receiving directions. So at the end of the day, maybe this ban isn't such a bad idea.
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