Cell Phone Use While Driving
Cell phones have been said to be a distraction that can cause unsafe driving. Although most possible distractions are not performed while driving, cell phones are considered a necessity in our modern lives. The reasons for cell phone usage while driving range from business related to personal related matters. Although every cell phone driver believes that their conversation is important within their lives, the lower limit of importance is a gray area that has yet to be defined. Proposed solutions to this issue have had mixed feedback from the public.
Opponents of excessive cell phone use claim that a cell phone can cause a driver to lose required concentration by reasoning that a driver holding a cell phone to their ear can cause a lack of control of their automobile. A solution has been to force drivers to use a cell phone accessory that allows a small headset to be used in order for the driver to have both hands available for the steering wheel and other instruments. The rationale behind this suggestion is that a driver can better control their automobile with two hands than with one hand, no matter whether a cell phone is in use or not. New York State senator Carl Marcellino was one of the leading figures during an effort where New York passed a ban making driving with a hand-held phone illegal. The senator, who is active in his community, met with Martill Williams of the American Automobile Association (AAA) during a discussion hosted by the Public Broadcasting Service's NewsHour. During the discussion Senator Marcellino stated that he had personally witnessed the unsafe actions that cell phones have caused. Williams, refusing to support the senator's efforts, claimed that hands-free accessories do not enable a driver to have a better consciousness of their surroundings, but rather the driver will be less inconvenienced by the discomfort of having to hold a cell phone to one's ear (NewsHour, 2006). Both the senator and the spokesperson for AAA had valid points, yet still disagreed on the solution.
Senator Marcellino's referenced source, the New England Journal of Medicine, released a 1994 study by the University of Toronto where it was discovered that the use of cell phones while driving an automobile caused drivers to have four-times greater chances of being involved in a collision, driving skills comparable to having a blood-alcohol level at the legal limit of both New York state and Canada (0.08%) (Redelmeier, and Tibshirani, 1997). Many would consider this study to be botched by the fact that the accidents reported occurred within several minutes after a cell phone was used and not specifically during cell phone use. The indirect cause-and-effect suggested by the New England Journal of Medicine allows for flexible paraphrasing out of context and does not actually scientifically prove the direct connectivity between cell phones and driving.
Currently there are several US states and even entire countries that have placed either bans or limitations on the use of cell phones while driving in an effort to save lives. The connection between cell phones and bad driving thus appears to be a simple one due to the fact that a cell phone and the arm holding the phone are an easy silhouette to view from afar. The effort to make highways and side-streets safer places to commute is a optimistic concept of but a sacrifice of the use of such a valued resource is a difficult choice to accept.
According to USAToday magazine, domestic cell phone owners have increased from 4.3 million in 1990 to 175 million in 2005, an increase from 2% to 59% of the national population (Miller, 2006, U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). With the massive increase in cell phone users and the compact size of current cell phones, conversations can continue no matter whether two people are in the same location on not. The ability to converse with an acquaintance while performing an action at a different location allows the efforts of an individual to spread a driver's concentration thinner than years before by constantly multitasking. The multitasking abilities of different people do differ and thus it is reasonable to assert that the danger posed by different driving cell phone users varies. The mobile and multitasking lives which today's society has transitioned into has lead us to require a solution that does not simply involve abandoning the new ways of life.
Even generously (linearly) estimating the number of cell phone users in 1994, during the time of the University of Toronto cell phone tests there were only 50 million cell phone users and thus the average number of cell-phone owning acquaintances that any cell phone user maintains has drastically increased. The concept of waiting to dial until you get home has been clouded by the fact that many cell phone users have disconnected their home phone lines in preference for the mobile alternatives. The transition to mobility has enabled many individuals to complete the same types of outgoing in incoming phone calls that they would have years earlier had at home at nearly any location of their everyday lives. A prime choice for cell phone use would be while no other conflicting actions are taking place, and some argue that it is incorrect to consider drive time as being cell phone time.
Another interesting aspect of cell phone use while driving is that it enables a caller to be able to contact emergency services if an accident does occur, independent of whether the cell phone was or was not a possible cause for the accident. Though opponents may or may not be correct when speculating that cell phones cause accidents, the same cell phone would be a double-edged sword, able to provide aid where help would otherwise not be available.
One major question that is posed by the safety factor has to do with whether or not the state laws, or country-wide law makers should have the right to ban the use of cell phones while behind the wheel of a car. New York (2001), New Jersey (2004), The District of Colombia (2004), and Connecticut (2005) all have put into place a ban against using cell phones while driving if hands-free accessories are not included (Glassbrenner, 2005). Almost all other states have considered or have partial bans on cell phones while driving.
Frequency jamming technology, developed by the US Navy after World War II, is able to cause radio signals to be nullified by flooding the airwaves so that no signal can be established by cell phones. Jammers have been considered for use within movie theaters to disallow the sounds of disturbing ring tones while a film atmosphere is preferred. This same forced disallowing of cell phone use is seen by patrons as an invasion of their privacy by some and a welcomed theater feature by others (Lee, 2006). Opponents argue that an emergency may arise where a patron will need to be contacted and a jammer would cause the security or health of loved ones to be violated, forcing the connectivity to the outside world to be cut off in order to please others who might have less responsibility. Currently, The use of frequency jamming technology is illegal in the United States as Federal Communication Commission (FCC) regulates the radio spectrum and jamming is said to openly violate the agreements that have been made for each allocated channel jammed. The concept of discontinuity to the outside world is a truly alarming concept to many theater patrons and similarly a solution to driving without a cell phone is a subject that cannot be solved with total agreement.
The use of frequency jamming technology in public places and the banning of cell phone use while driving are two strikingly similar topics as viewed by the public. Both the ideas of jamming and banning cell phones bring forth a side of society that appears addicted to their cell phones; needing their cell phones as if it were a resource required for survival. Surly not every cell phone driver is discussing a matter of life threatening emergency, and the clear and distinct line where by the importance to pay attention to the road seems to be lost to the need for a discussion of less than essential matters. An example of emergency cell phone use while driving would be while a husband is escorting his pregnant wife to an emergency room; conversely, discussions having to do with forgetting to water plants can be delayed until a more safe point in time.
A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that between 2004 and 2005, the number of drivers using cell phones has increased in nearly every category surveyed. As of 2005, six percent all the drivers in the US at any given time are using cell phones (Glassbrenner, 2005). The study found that driving with a cell phone is more common among young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 than of other adults of ages 25 and 69. It also found that driving while on a cell phone was more common during weekdays than during the weekends. A possible interpretation of the NHTSA's findings would be that most conversations were being conducted by a younger crowd and that the conversations are most likely having to do with coordinating around high school and college matters.
A study released April 20, 2006 by the NHTSA concluded a year long study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute of 100 vehicles (241 participants) equipped with multiple cameras and found that eight out of ten accidents involved a lack of attention by one of the parties involved (Anonymous, 2006). With a sample size of 82 car accidents, it was reported that communicating with a hand-held device increased the chances of an accident by 1.3 times the normal rate; more significantly, dialing a hand-held device increased the chances of an accident by 3 times. It is important to note that dialing a hand-held device does not require a lengthy period of time as talking on a cell phone does, and that the dialing of a cell phone statistic would typically also be followed by the communicating statistic as most incoming and outgoing calls are followed by the use of the in-hand phone.
The NHTSA's findings have shed light on the discussion that Senator Marcellino and AAA representative Williams discussed in 2001 as it would infer that Senator Marcellino had all of his facts wrong, and that Williams was correct to say that wireless accessories would not solve the problem. The most dangerous use of the phone does not require hands free attachments at all. The act of locating and answering a ringing cell phone or attempting to dial a cell phone while traveling various speeds and in various conditions should not be attempted as facts show that the danger factor does exist. In the best case scenario, a phone will connect to the desired party without incident, but even then, when the odds have shown favor, the chances of an accident continue to be apparent as the conversion continues. Assuming that a cell phone call requires ten seconds to dial while driving, an equal amount of risk to dialing a cell phone occurs every 17.4 seconds of cell phone talk-time. A three minute conversation is thus a dangerous as if answering a ringing cell phone caused you to have a 34 times increase of chances of having an accident.
Studies have shown that driving while using a cell phone, no matter if the act is dialing, answering, or talking, increases the chances of having an automobile accident. The asset that a cell phone plays in everyday life is reason enough for arguments of the precautions should be put in place. Such an argument cannot be settled with the agreement that cell phones should be discontinued, as such an idea is out of the question. Further regulations will need to be put into place in order to save the lives of individuals who do not fully understand the risk they take with their actions. In order for the best solution to be brought forward, both opponents will need to come to a consensus after having fully educated themselves of the severity that their decision will play in order to reason without overemphasizing facts that inflate their own motives, only then will lives truly be saved.
Bibliography:
Anonymous, 2006, "The Impact of Driver Inattention On Near-Crash/Crash Risk": National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (April 2006), DOT HS 810 594.
Glassbrenner, D., 2005, "Driver Cell Phone Use in 2005 - Overall Results": National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (December 2005), DOT HS 809 967.
NewsHour, Online, Hang Up and Drive,
[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/jan-june01/cellphones_06-26.html]
. Accessed April 18, 2006.
Redelmeier, D. and Tibshirani, R., 1997, "Association Between Cellular-Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions," The New England Journal of Medicine, v. 336, pp 453-458.
Lee, Su Fen, For Those Who Lack Cell-Phone Etiquette: Get Ready to be Jammed,
[http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=14933&repository=0001_article]
. Accessed April 19, 2006.
Miller, Stanley, When Nature Calls, Cell Phone Owners Should Answer Carefully,
[http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/2005-04-04-cell-bad-splash_x.htm]
. Accessed April 19, 2006.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 Population Estimates,
[Accessed using http://www.census.gov/]
. Accessed April 15, 2006.
