Office of the Governor,
Re: Hands-Free Driving
Dear Gregory Abbot,
My name is _________________ a resident of San Marcos, Texas and I am excited that a hands-free driving law has been passed in San Marcos. However, I am writing this letter to register my concerns about distracted driving that is associated with hands-free driving. I am also concerned that hands-free driving has been made a local issue instead of a state issue.
According to the AAA Foundation, hands-free technologies present certain dangers for drivers because mental distractions can persist for about 27 seconds after a driver sends a text, changes music, or dials the phone, and this is potentially unsafe. The mental distractions may make a motorist miss some stop signs or fail to see other vehicles or pedestrians while the mind is readjusting itself to driving. Some of the least distracting hands-free devices can distract a driver for over fifteen minutes after completing a particular task.
It is quite disturbing that despite the concerns associated with distracted driving, legislation that prohibits certain distractions may result in unintended consequences. For example, they might imply that some forms of distractions such as hands-free driving are “safe.” I firmly believe that there are many reasons why we should be concerned about hands-free driving. Hands-free texting, especially when a person is driving, involves multi-tasking, which increases the workload of the driver and may shift one’s attention from actual driving.
All types of distractions, including hands-free driving, can have adverse effects on a person’s driving performance. The increase in voice-activated technologies in phones and cars presents an increasing safe-driving problem, which all states should seek to address. Due to its significance, I believe the hand-free driving should not be treated as a local issue but as an important state issue. The new technologies and devices are sources of distractions to drivers. Therefore, hand- free driving is not risk-free.
