“Each day, more than nine people are killed and 1,060 more are injured in crashes that involve a distracted driver” (cdc.gov). However, driving and talking on the cell phone tends to be habitual among drivers, who, for various reasons, chose to do more than just driving, when in front of their car’s steering wheel. Although many might claim that it is easy and safe to both drive and talk on the cell phone, especially when using hands-free devices that allow the driver’s hands to be on the steering wheel, driving and talking on the cell phone at the same time arises many dangers, putting not only the driver’s life at risk but also the passenger(s) and other drivers and passengers that come their way. Based on evidence and 2013 Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010 alone one in five crashes occurred due to distraction, which represented the 18 percent of the total annual crashes. Talking on the cell phone while driving a very dangerous behavior and should be illegal and severely penalized.
One of the most dangerous consequences of talking on the cell phone or texting while driving is causing drivers distraction that in most cases leads to accidents. According to a fact sheet published by the Center for Accident Research & Road Safety in Queensland, naturalistic driving studies have shown that distraction has indeed been identified as a leading cause for approximately 22 percent of car crashes and about 71 percent of truck crashes and a contributing factor that increases the risk of a four-fold crash (police.qld.gov.au). Unfortunately, 25% of the drivers in Queensland disregard the potential risks and the illegality of driving and talking on the phone and report using hand-held cell phones to read their text messages, send a text message or answer calls (police.qld.gov.au). Of course, Queensland is an indicative example of the entire country’s driving behavior, since people and driving-related policies are almost similar on all states and countries. I personally had a similar experience when a family member got involved in a car crash because the other driver was driving and trying to text a message to his wife for some unimportant reason. The result was my family member to be hospitalized with crucial injuries and had to be taken to intensive care for about a week.
Drivers who talk on their cell phones during a storm can experience electric shocks from possible lightning strikes. Mary Donahue, a faculty member of the De Anza College has posted an article regarding Thunderstorm and lightning safety, mentioning that there have been numerous reports about people talking on their cell phones or using their iPod and got stricken by a lightning, causing them wish-bone shaped chest injuries, burns in the neck and ruptured eardrums, even broken jaws after lightning has travelled through their electronic devices and injured their body (Donahue, 2012). Moreover, physicians have reported treating people with burns and injuries coming from using their cell phones, among other electronic devices, during storms. Indicatively, a former stock broker from Massachusetts managed to survive after being struck by lightning while talking on his cell phone, and the same applied to at least 13 more people he had tracked down from 2004 and onwards (Donahue, 2012).
Research has proved that dialing and talking on the cell phone while driving reduces the driver’s performance and they appear to spend less time checking their mirrors and monitoring the road environment (Hosking, Young & Regan, 2006). It comes naturally that a driver whose attention is distracted by talking on their cell phone makes riskier decisions, since his ability to properly judge and evaluate his speed and distances, among others, is affected. Also, drivers tend to have slower reactions and less controlled braking and more aggressive braking as well, due to slowed reaction times, plus they have speed variations and are seen more wandering from the lane and keeping reduced following distances, compared to drivers that are concentrated only in their driving (Hosking, Young & Regan, 2006).
Traffic disruption is another issue caused by driving and talking on the cell phone. According to a laboratory research conducted by David Strayer, PhD, of the Applied Cognition Laboratory at the University of Utah, published by the American Psychological Association in 2006, traffic interruption caused by cell-phone drivers leads drivers to miss signs such as traffic signals and billboards (American Psychological Association, 2006). It is proven that drivers’ attention is elsewhere and even though they direct their vision on objects, they fail to actually see them. Visual scanning is greatly affected by complex phone conversation when driving, which in turns contributes in disrupting traffic, by reduced reflex and drivers’ failure to notice signs in a timely manner (American Psychological Association, 2006).
Opposing views insist on utilizing a cell phone in case one needs to make an emergency call, to save some time doing work for their business or use the navigator. However, as aforementioned, any use of cell phone while driving causes distraction, with all deriving problems that put the drivers’ and other people’s life in serious danger. In case of an emergency, it might be a good idea to pull over some place safe and make the emergency call. On top of that, it should be wise to delay receiving and making calls and text messages until the car is off the road, away from traffic and safely parked. Of course, a driver can use voicemail and return any calls after the car is stopped or if they have reached their destination. In case a driver decides to talk on the cell phone while on the runway, to achieve important work and save precious time there are facts they need to know. It is commonly accepted that vision if the most significant sense for safe driving. When talking on the phone, a driver “looks at” objects but fails to actually “see” them (National Safety Council, 2010), either the driver is using a hand-free phone or a handled one. The percentage of drivers looking but not seeing about 50% of the information in their driving environment (National Safety Council, 2010). Of course, with such a lowered attention anything is possible, from serious injury crashes to even fatal accidents. Researchers call distracted drivers experience “inattention blindness”, which is closely resembled to the vision drivers have when inside a tunnel (National Safety Council, 2010). Since drivers are incapable of processing all the important runway information that will keep them alert for possible hazards and unpleasant situations not easily foreseen National Safety Council, 2010), driving and talking on the cell phone cannot be justified under any term, even if talking and driving saves people time. No one knows when immediate reflexive attitudes will be requested that can determine one’s life. Finally, using navigation as another excuse for some drivers to use their cell phone and drive at the same time is also dangerous and puts the driver and many other people at risk with their lives. Nevertheless, in-vehicle technologies such as navigation systems or the navigation systems found as applications in the new generation cell phones are proven great distractors too (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). From the three main types of distraction, using a navigation system includes them all, visual, manual and cognitive (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013), given that the driver takes his eyes off the road, removes his hands from the steering wheel and gets his mind distracted off driving.
All in all, driving and talking on the cell phone is dangerous since it contributes to distracting the driver’s attention off the road, which 71% of cases leads to causing serious truck crashes, among others. Moreover, driving and having a conversation over the phone during a storm, either it is a hands-free or hand-handled cell phone, can be a significant stimulator to attracting lightning and getting seriously injured and burnt. There is no justification or rationalization for using a cell phone when driving, even if that saves drivers time from important business tasks, as, again, contributes to driver distraction and reduced driving performance. It is commonly seen cell phone-drivers to have dropped levels of reflex, braking and noticing important signs, which in turns creates traffic disruption and increases the potential of a crash. Of course, using devices that combine all three types of distraction, such as navigation systems, should be completely excluding from the driving experience. Perhaps the safest measure a driver can take is to inform everybody that while driving all calls will be delayed until the car reaches its destination or is safely parked somewhere. Additionally, voicemail can be utilized and help saving more than just time: human lives.
References:
Center for Accident Research &Road Safety-Queensland, State of the Road, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.police.qld.gov.au/Resources/Internet/news%20and%20alerts/campaigns/fatalfive/documents/mobile_phones_and_distraction_fs.pdf
Donahue Mary, Thunderstorm and lightning safety. Last updated: August 2012. Retrieved from: http://faculty.deanza.edu/donahuemary/stories/storyReader$583
Hosking, S. G., Young, K. L., & Regan, M. A. (2006). The effects of text messaging on young novice driver performance. Monash University Accident Research Centre, Report No. 246. Retrieved from: www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/muarc246.pdf
American Psychological Association, Research in Action: Driven to Distraction, 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.apa.org/research/action/drive.aspx
National Safety Council, Understanding the distracted brain: Why driving using hands-free cell phones is risky behavior, 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.fnal.gov/pub/traffic_safety/files/NSC%20White%20Paper%20-%20Distracted%20Driving%203-10.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Distracted Driving in the United States and Europe, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsdistracteddriving/
