To Text or Not to Text? Essay -- Legal Issues, Driving, Cell Phones

For 80 years now, people have been talking on the telephone. For over 100 years, we have been driving vehicles. However, it was not until recently individuals have tried to combine these two. While most people know the dangers this can cause and has caused, many people in today’s society still have not put the cell phone down before getting behind the wheel. Linda Doyle, a loving mother and an avid helper for the Central Oklahoma Humane Society, became a statistic in the year 2009. Her life abruptly ended in a car accident by a distracted driver. Linda Doyle’s life was cut short, simply because a driver could not put his cell phone down while driving (Hanes 1). Larry Copeland, a writer for USA Today, outlines the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s scary statistic that â€Å"6,000 highway deaths each year involve distracted drivers† (1). While this number tends to sound extreme, knowing 6,000 lives could have been saved if only drivers would have taken seriously the dangers of driving while distracted. While a person may believe they can multitask while driving and not be in any danger, they are clearly mistaken. Phil LeBeau, a CNBC auto and airline industry reporter based at the network's Chicago bureau, discusses the terrible habit American drivers have developed in his story â€Å"Texting and Driving Worse than Drinking and Driving.† With the help of Car and Driver Magazine, LeBeau was able to see firsthand at how dangerous driving while distracted is. LeBeau took a driving test created to see how emailing or texting slows down a person’s reaction time. LeBeau states, â€Å"On average, it took me four times longer to hit the brake [while being distracted and driving]† (1). Therefore, LeBeau’s results matched up w... ... slow or too fast, or weaving . . . They’re concentrating more on [the phone] than on driving’† (qtd. in Hanes 5). Making texting while driving illegal and enforcing this law, would make texting while driving difficult to attempt. Distractions will never go away while driving, but eliminating cell phone use while driving can be easily done. Many individuals know the dangers texting while driving has caused, yet still refuse to put the cell phone down. I personally am guilty of this, and I would tend to agree that once put in a terrifying situation, I would be able to finally break my habit. With law makers creating laws banning cell phone use while driving, I also believe this would help put a stop to people’s dangerous habits. Putting oneself and the other individuals’ safety at risk can be stopped if people would eliminate using cell phones while driving. To Text or Not to Text? Essay -- Legal Issues, Driving, Cell Phones For 80 years now, people have been talking on the telephone. For over 100 years, we have been driving vehicles. However, it was not until recently individuals have tried to combine these two. While most people know the dangers this can cause and has caused, many people in today’s society still have not put the cell phone down before getting behind the wheel. Linda Doyle, a loving mother and an avid helper for the Central Oklahoma Humane Society, became a statistic in the year 2009. Her life abruptly ended in a car accident by a distracted driver. Linda Doyle’s life was cut short, simply because a driver could not put his cell phone down while driving (Hanes 1). Larry Copeland, a writer for USA Today, outlines the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s scary statistic that â€Å"6,000 highway deaths each year involve distracted drivers† (1). While this number tends to sound extreme, knowing 6,000 lives could have been saved if only drivers would have taken seriously the dangers of driving while distracted. While a person may believe they can multitask while driving and not be in any danger, they are clearly mistaken. Phil LeBeau, a CNBC auto and airline industry reporter based at the network's Chicago bureau, discusses the terrible habit American drivers have developed in his story â€Å"Texting and Driving Worse than Drinking and Driving.† With the help of Car and Driver Magazine, LeBeau was able to see firsthand at how dangerous driving while distracted is. LeBeau took a driving test created to see how emailing or texting slows down a person’s reaction time. LeBeau states, â€Å"On average, it took me four times longer to hit the brake [while being distracted and driving]† (1). Therefore, LeBeau’s results matched up w... ... slow or too fast, or weaving . . . They’re concentrating more on [the phone] than on driving’† (qtd. in Hanes 5). Making texting while driving illegal and enforcing this law, would make texting while driving difficult to attempt. Distractions will never go away while driving, but eliminating cell phone use while driving can be easily done. Many individuals know the dangers texting while driving has caused, yet still refuse to put the cell phone down. I personally am guilty of this, and I would tend to agree that once put in a terrifying situation, I would be able to finally break my habit. With law makers creating laws banning cell phone use while driving, I also believe this would help put a stop to people’s dangerous habits. Putting oneself and the other individuals’ safety at risk can be stopped if people would eliminate using cell phones while driving.