2008 Woodie Awards
Ban on driving with cell phones: will it change anything?
Emily Esguerra, Jennifer Kennedy
Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Phones used for more than emergencies: Emily Esguerra
We're constantly on our cell phones.
We talk at all hours of the day and night, for a mixture of reasons, for different amounts of time, and at various locations. We're on our phones at school, at work, at home, in the hallways, and especially in our cars. When's the last time you drove somewhere, by yourself, and haven't made a phone call? We love to talk while driving. Is it dangerous? Some may think so. Is it practical and efficient? Most definitely.
Envision this: you're driving to school and after mentally scanning all the assignments that are due today you suddenly realize you left your English book and homework on the counter. Lucky for you, your roommate is in the same class and she hasn't left the house yet. Grabbing your cell phone, you frantically place the call, your roommate grabs your homework, and the day is saved.
Now imagine not being able to make that phone call. Picture walking into class, no textbook or assignment in hand, and facing disappointed looks from your professor. Or worse, imagine getting pulled over by Moraga PD, already late to school, and getting a ticket for talking while driving.
The situation sounds absurd, but a scenario like this may not be all that far-fetched beginning in July 2008. Thanks to our very own California Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, new legislation will prohibit drivers from using a wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle unless the cell phone is equipped with hands-free device. In this way, drivers will still be allowed to talk while they keep both hands on the wheel. Those who violate the law will face a fine of $20 for a first offense and no more than a $50 fine for each subsequent offense.
However, the law also states that "emergency" phone calls are an exception. That is more than a little ambiguous. What constitutes an emergency phone call? Who decides? You? The police officer? The state of California? There's a vast discrepancy.
While the reasons we talk on our phones while driving usually have more to do with finding the address to a party than a quasi-emergency call like our English homework, it's still our choice to determine what's important.
The hands-free devices are ineffective simply because when we're talking on our cell phones while driving it's not a matter of physically having our hands on the wheel, but the fact that our minds are elsewhere in conversation. Who really drives with both hands on the wheel at all times anyway?
Certainly no one I know.
Phones cause accidents, kill children: Jennifer Kennedy
Between 4,000 and 8,000 crashes related to distracted driving occur daily in the United States, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Cell phone usage is very common among drivers these days as you can see for yourself, especially while driving on the freeway, and is one important distractions that leads to distracted driving crashes.
It can be very useful when a person gets lost and needs directions, though it's more often used to chat with friends on a long drive, and it's when people use cell phones for these kinds of lengthy conversations that it becomes dangerous.
As the conversation gets going, the person becomes more focused on the person on the other end of the line than the road. If the phone conversation turns interesting or into a heated argument, then driving will be the furthest thing from his or her mind.
If a sudden stop were necessary, the driver's reaction time would be delayed, and that's not the only thing to pay attention to when driving. In fact, some studies show that driving with cell phones reduces the driver's focus to the level of a drunk driver's, with the same consequences.
Many argue that they already drive with one hand on the wheel so driving while using the other hand to talk on the phone is not dangerous. What is not understood is that the other hand is free in case of an emergency. If you are on the phone and an emergency comes up, you suddenly have to execute tricky maneuvers with only one free hand. Unless you are an expert driver, the maneuver could be impossible without two hands.
When the phone rings, your phone is not handy, more times than it is. Instead, it's in a purse or under the seat next to you. This requires looking over to see where it is, taking eyes off the road, losing stability, and/or using one or both hands to retrieve the phone.
This is yet another distraction from the task at hand. A car accident can happen in the one second it takes to reach over and get the phone, or a kid can run in front of your car. That one second makes a difference.
The use of Bluetooth for emergencies is the best solution to this problem. This allows for both hands to be free and available if need be. At the same time, if the usage is for emergencies only, the driver will not be distracted by the conversation.
Cell phones are one of the biggest distractions to drivers today and by banning their use we can stop many more accidents from happening each day.
We're constantly on our cell phones.
We talk at all hours of the day and night, for a mixture of reasons, for different amounts of time, and at various locations. We're on our phones at school, at work, at home, in the hallways, and especially in our cars. When's the last time you drove somewhere, by yourself, and haven't made a phone call? We love to talk while driving. Is it dangerous? Some may think so. Is it practical and efficient? Most definitely.
Envision this: you're driving to school and after mentally scanning all the assignments that are due today you suddenly realize you left your English book and homework on the counter. Lucky for you, your roommate is in the same class and she hasn't left the house yet. Grabbing your cell phone, you frantically place the call, your roommate grabs your homework, and the day is saved.
Now imagine not being able to make that phone call. Picture walking into class, no textbook or assignment in hand, and facing disappointed looks from your professor. Or worse, imagine getting pulled over by Moraga PD, already late to school, and getting a ticket for talking while driving.
The situation sounds absurd, but a scenario like this may not be all that far-fetched beginning in July 2008. Thanks to our very own California Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, new legislation will prohibit drivers from using a wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle unless the cell phone is equipped with hands-free device. In this way, drivers will still be allowed to talk while they keep both hands on the wheel. Those who violate the law will face a fine of $20 for a first offense and no more than a $50 fine for each subsequent offense.
However, the law also states that "emergency" phone calls are an exception. That is more than a little ambiguous. What constitutes an emergency phone call? Who decides? You? The police officer? The state of California? There's a vast discrepancy.
While the reasons we talk on our phones while driving usually have more to do with finding the address to a party than a quasi-emergency call like our English homework, it's still our choice to determine what's important.
The hands-free devices are ineffective simply because when we're talking on our cell phones while driving it's not a matter of physically having our hands on the wheel, but the fact that our minds are elsewhere in conversation. Who really drives with both hands on the wheel at all times anyway?
Certainly no one I know.
Phones cause accidents, kill children: Jennifer Kennedy
Between 4,000 and 8,000 crashes related to distracted driving occur daily in the United States, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Cell phone usage is very common among drivers these days as you can see for yourself, especially while driving on the freeway, and is one important distractions that leads to distracted driving crashes.
It can be very useful when a person gets lost and needs directions, though it's more often used to chat with friends on a long drive, and it's when people use cell phones for these kinds of lengthy conversations that it becomes dangerous.
As the conversation gets going, the person becomes more focused on the person on the other end of the line than the road. If the phone conversation turns interesting or into a heated argument, then driving will be the furthest thing from his or her mind.
If a sudden stop were necessary, the driver's reaction time would be delayed, and that's not the only thing to pay attention to when driving. In fact, some studies show that driving with cell phones reduces the driver's focus to the level of a drunk driver's, with the same consequences.
Many argue that they already drive with one hand on the wheel so driving while using the other hand to talk on the phone is not dangerous. What is not understood is that the other hand is free in case of an emergency. If you are on the phone and an emergency comes up, you suddenly have to execute tricky maneuvers with only one free hand. Unless you are an expert driver, the maneuver could be impossible without two hands.
When the phone rings, your phone is not handy, more times than it is. Instead, it's in a purse or under the seat next to you. This requires looking over to see where it is, taking eyes off the road, losing stability, and/or using one or both hands to retrieve the phone.
This is yet another distraction from the task at hand. A car accident can happen in the one second it takes to reach over and get the phone, or a kid can run in front of your car. That one second makes a difference.
The use of Bluetooth for emergencies is the best solution to this problem. This allows for both hands to be free and available if need be. At the same time, if the usage is for emergencies only, the driver will not be distracted by the conversation.
Cell phones are one of the biggest distractions to drivers today and by banning their use we can stop many more accidents from happening each day.