A. Attention
In reference to statistics from the National Safety Council, over twenty eight percent of road accidents are as a result of people using their cell phones while sending messages or talking and driving at the same time. A higher percentage of these crashes calculated per year and estimated to be 1.4 million, result from mobile phone conversations while about 200 000 are blamed on sending messages. These crashes lead to permanent and partial injury to people leading to death or disability. They also damage property belonging to the public as well as private investors.
B. Need
In an effort to reduce these statistics, a few organizations like a Non Governmental Organization in the name of Mothers against Driving have tried to get the government and stake holder’s attention towards this catastrophe (Enninger, Monroe & Gronbeck, 1978).
In reality, almost everyone has a mobile phone and many of these people also drive frequently. Therefore, it is imperative that both non supporters and supporters of this ban should be convinced to stop the habit and create a tall order for a focus drive.
Use of cell phone while driving carve up the concentration of the person driving and thereby slows their reflex. The human brain is created in a manner that it can not give equal attention to more than one task and complete them properly. Talking on the phone and driving are two activities which require a lot of attention and cannot be carried out at the same time without compromising on the security of those who are involved. A lot of emphasize is put on the issue because it is sensitive and involves the lives of people (German, Gronbeck, Ehninger & Monroe, 2010).
A driver is supposed to watch everything that is happening around them and on the road so that they do not cause an accident. This entirely involves concentrating on the road and the vicinity. When the driver starts talking on the phone and driving at the same time, they cannot concentrate fully on what is going on around and this can lead to a crash.
Moreover, telephone communication while driving should be banned because someone can be told shocking or even exciting news on the phone. This shocking news can make them lose control and cause an accident. For example, the wife called a driving husband and informed him that their five year old son who had been fighting blood cancer in the hospital had finally succumbed to the disease. The man really loved his son and on receiving the news, he lost concentration and knocked a pedestrian woman killing her on the sport. This is just an example of an accident that could have been avoided if the news of the dead son could have been delivered at the right time.
Driving and talking on the telephone at the same time, not only detracts the attention of the driver but also the people around the driver. Consider a driver who is driving and notices another car making a goofy turn or even going out of their lane. After a keen observation, s/he notices that the driver making the ridiculous turn is not worried and is talking on the phone without caring the confusion they are getting other road users into. This makes responsible users of the road to wonder how irresponsible some people can be on the road. A crash originating from such an irresponsible driving could injure not only other users but even the driver (Lucas, 1995).
Human life is very important than a telephone conversation. In any case, there are very many places along the road where one can stop and talk on the phone. When one carefully looks at the options, supporters and non supporters will both agree that it is better to stop your vehicle and make an important telephone call. The National Safety Council has reported that awareness campaigns have not been effective in persuading people to stop the behavior. Non supporters have also argued that people should put on head phones while talking and driving but this does not make things different because whether talking through the ear piece or head phone, a driver’s attention is divided and this can lead to an accident (Carnegie, 1943).
Finally, other irresponsible driving habits like driving while drunk have been banned because they divide the driver’s attention. Talking on the cell phone while driving also leads to divided attention and should not be given any special treatment. All the irresponsible habits when driving reduce the driver’s ability to drive with their full potential. It also makes the driver unable to react urgently whenever there is need because there are not concentrating fully.
C. Satisfaction
The main solution to this problem is for the federal government to come up with legislation that stops irresponsible driving habits. Practices like driving while talking on the cell phone, eating or even reading a map while driving should be totally abolished. Harsh penalties in the form of fines or even prison sentences should be imposed on those that are found going against such rules. The initial step is to create awareness on the importance of such legislation. Mobilizing support is important to enable supporters lobby enough resources to ensure that enough numbers are available to pass the necessary legislation. Mobilizing support is also important because it will help overcome resistance from non supporters (Karat, Vergo & Nahamoo, 2007).
Obviously, campaigns without legislation have been carried out previously but have not made any impact in the positive. Legislation with sanctions should be put in placer to show government commitment to reducing accidents resulting from engaging n telephone conversation when driving.
D. Visualization
Enacting these laws will reduce the frequency of reports of accidents resulting from car crash. These will protect the lives of drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. This is a step that requires political and public will which can be found through a properly carried out public awareness. If this is successfully implemented, it will save the lives of millions of citizens in the United States and maybe across the world. Previous efforts have not been successful because they lacked the back up of necessary legislation and many people who indulge into these poor habits have gone unpunished making them to repeat the same mistakes in the times to come (Goel & Byrne, 2001).
If nothing is done so that the status quo is allowed to continue many people who will die on the road will just be mere statistics. The final cost will go to the government which will be required to treat victims and maintain disabilities resulting from the habit ((Giovannis & Antonio, 1997.
Therefore, any efforts towards supporting the ban are worth while and should be welcome with both hands.
E. Action
There is more to be done apart from awareness, the government should move swiftly to not only pass this legislation, but also give them the required good will so that they can serve their purposes. Cooperation is necessary on the federal government’s side, the public and other stakeholders. The earlier this is done the more lives and injuries will be saved making the roads safe for use by the people. The government should make it clear that such a policy is required for the benefit of the citizens so as not to attract resistance from the public. The sanctions put to those found going against the legislation should be hard enough to make those who commit the offense be willing to change. Without harsh penalties the legislation will be mere paper work and would be celebrated in breakage than obedience (Jungua & Haton, 1995).
These preventative measures, though very cheap, will not only reduce the number of lives lost on the roads but will also instill positive values to all road users. To enforce such legislation, the police will be required to observe drivers in a driver’s lap to net those drivers who use hands free gadgets (Mohri, 2002).
Obviously, enforcement is not an easy task, but it is also important to note that it is not unattainable. What is required is the political will to go about it.
Cooperation is mandatory to succeed. People make conversations on the phone because there is that opportunity to do that. Getting rid of the opportunity will stop the habit and may be in future, someone will invent something to replace cell phone use while driving.
Reference List
Ehninger, D. Monroe, A. & Gronbeck, E. (1978) Principles and types of speech communication. California: University of California.
German , M., Gronbeck, E., Ehninger, D., & Monroe, A. (2010). Principles of public speaking. Old Tappan, NJ: Pearson
Lucas, S.E. (1995). The Art of Public Speaking. New York: Sage Publications
Monroe, H. (1943). Monroe's Principles of Speech. Chicago: Scott, Foresman.
Carnegie, D. (1957). How to develop self confidence and influence people by public speaking. Oxford: Cedar Publications.
Karat, C.,& Vergo, J., Nahamoo, D., (2007). Conversational Interface Technologies. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Giovanni B., & Antonio Z. (1997). Survey of the state of the art in human language technology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Junqua, J., & Haton, P. (1995). Robustness in Automatic Speech Recognition: Fundamentals and Applications. California: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Mohri, M. (2002). Distance of Weighted Automata: General Definitions and Algorithm. International Journal of Foundations of Computer Science 14 (6), 957–982.
Goel, V., & Byrne, J. (2000). Minimum Bayes-Risk Automatic Speech Recognition. Computer Speech & Language 14 (2), 115–135.
