Cell Phone Use While Driving
Today, almost all individuals own a mobile phone. It is not surprising for it is a fact that we all need these devices to communicate with people much easier. It’s better than writing a telegram and sending letters in envelopes. Unarguably, it makes life easier. But all things don’t come in better outcomes alone. Mobile phones, if not used appropriately, can further cost other’s lives and that does not exclude yours.
In the United States, in 2009, 25 to 50% of all car accidents are due to driver distraction. Out of 5,474 people killed, 995 involved cell phone use. 24, 000 out of the 448,000 injured, reported using cell phone. Furthermore, in 2011, 350 fatal crashes involved cell phone distraction.
Driving, it’s a controlled operation and nobody controls the vehicle but you. The use
of cell phone is certainly not advisable because it may cause distractions, thus, compromising you and other people’s safety as well.
Motorists who use cell phones while driving are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. Teen drivers are 4 times more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near crash events. Most Americans believed that using cell phones while driving is dangerous but still more than 81% of drivers admitted they are into this behavior. Clearly, this is an issue that everyone must take notice of.
In addition, below are notable details on how cell phone use while driving affects a
person:
- Answering a text takes away your attention for about 5 seconds. That is enough time to travel the length of a football field.
- Talking on Cell Phone While Driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old and according to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, drivers talking on cell phones are 18% slower to react to brake lights. They also take 17% longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.
- Texting while Driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road and every 6 seconds of drive time, a driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their eyes off the road. This makes texting the most distracting of all cell phone related tasks.
It is absolutely necessary that we take safety precautions before doing something. Driving a vehicle properly is not that hard to do but driving while using a cell phone is another way around. It can compromise a person’s safety which can further lead to injuries and even take a life. Surely, discipline and great awareness are the keys to avoid such accidents.
