Ontario doctors recently notify the public of the severe risks of car accidents while talking on a cellular phone. "Mobile phone use effects a driver's cognitive function, visual concentration, speed of processing information and reaction time." says the Ontario Medical Association. This study does not only relate to using a cellphones by holding it to your head but you are also effected when using hands free or by using an earpiece. In 2005 there were 766 fatalities and 71,850 injuries due to vehicle collisions, although it isn't known how many of these can be linked do direct cellphone use. Cellphones while driving are banned in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as five states and 30 countries. The study also proves that cellphone use while driving is the same as driving at the legal alcohol limit. Research also found that that cellphone use while driving lessened the drivers field of view, changed driving speed, slowed response to traffic lights and changed the distance between other drivers.
I think that although driving while using a cellphone might seem to be such a problem, I do not really think that it is avoidable. Many people need to use their phones especially if they are driving long distances. I do not think they should be banned however I think that drivers should monitor their use better then they currently do. Cellphones may cause a problem but at many times they are needed for emergency purposes. A way to solve this problem would to have an emergency line that could be called, so that the driver will only pick up on that line. In conclusion I agree that cellphones are becoming a problem to today's drivers however I still think that they are needed and should not be banned due to emergency circumstances.
2 comments:
I partially agree with your opinion on this article. Now of days cell phones are almost an essential in the business world. When people are driving to and home from work, or even during the day, if they can use that time to call someone, of course they are going to. Before cell phones, those hours you would spend driving were not necessarily usless, because you had to go, but you couldn't obviously get any work done. Now with cell phones we can get so much more done, making a lot more free time in the evening to spend with your families. A good solution to this problem, which has already taken into affect dramatically, is bluetooth. With almost any cell phone now you can get a ear piece so you can keep both hands on the wheel and talk at the same time. Also some cars such as Acura, have bluetooth built into the car, so if someone calls you it goes through the speakers in the car and then you just talk and a microphone pics it up. This I believe is a very good solution, because making cell phones illegal while driving is very non-realistic.
To Dylan,
I understand what you are saying about bluetooth and in car talking systems. However, this study includes those systems, it is not the fact of physically holding the phone that is causing accidents it is the fact that talking do someone while in the car causes a large distraction and effects the way you drive.
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