Posted: 11/12/03

Should cellular phones be banned while driving?

No!

By Caitlin Manley

Should cell phone use be banned while operating a motor vehicle? There is enough evidence to answer this questionóemphatically no.

While the use of cellular phones indeed is somewhat of a distraction from driving, there are many reasons why it is necessary in todayís fast-paced society, and many other (more serious) distractions to drivers. Surely, licensed American drivers have earned the right to decide when and when not to use their mobile phones, and are generally intelligent and responsible enough to do so.

First of all, there are countless distractions to the average motor vehicle operator. Have you ever ridden in a car with a child who insists on throwing a temper tantrum? What about being stuck in front of an angry tailgater?

People eat, drink, apply make-up, readóeven shave behind the wheel of their cars. And yes, they use cellular phones. It is impossible to eliminate every distraction from the average driverís daily commute, save installing an isolating plastic bubble around the driverís seat. (Sound like fun?)

The NETS (Network Employers for Traffic Safety) cite the two main distractions to drivers as spilling hot coffee on themselves and dropping something on the floor. Now, unless the something is a cell phone, the phone is not involved in that statistic. Fiddling with a radio or climate control system is the next most dangerous distraction reported by NETS. Again, where is the oh so deadly cell phone in this?î

The car phone was, in fact, in popular use before the cellular phone. It was a phone created specifically for use in a vehicle. Obviously, use of a phone while driving was deemed a necessity early on. People do have many important uses for their mobile phones in the car.

Parents can be easily notified of problems with their children. Businesspeople with frequent need for travel can keep in touch with the office. Conscientious motorists can instantly report accidents or injuries. Victims of carjackings can dial for help, potentially without getting hurt. These are only some of the reasons Americans have gotten use to having their phone around in the car.

Cell phone owners, which totaled 100 million in the late 1990s, have indeed become accustomed to using their phones while driving. According to Prevention Magazine, 85 percent of these 100 million people are estimated to be using their phones while driving. This statistic would make law enforcement of an anti-cell phone use law very tricky to enforce.

Should such a large number of people be forced to inconvenience themselves to comply with a law like this which may not even help them? I think not.

Should our already strained law enforcement officers take some of their focus off of speeders, drunk drivers, etc. to pull over these estimated 85,000 motorists? I think not.

There are even ways to make cell phone use while driving considered safer, courtesy of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.

ï Be aware of the phoneís features.

ï Use a hands free device.

ï Use the phone sensibly.

ï Assess traffic situations before dialing.

There are even ways to use a phone that could make it seem safer to those against it. Why then, would we even consider such a drastic measure as completely eliminating something that has become a convenience, a necessity, even a way of life for millions and millions of Americans. Are we not free to carry out personal lives how we choose, within the reasonable boundaries of what is safe? Of course we are. This is, after all, the land of the free.

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