Ban use of all mobile devices while driving
By Mark Arum
When it comes to transportation in this country, there is no more powerful voice than that of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Last Thursday LaHood’s powerful voice boomed in San Antonio, Texas at the distracted-driving summit. LaHood called for a federal law banning talking on a cell phone or texting while driving any kind of vehicle on any kind of road in the country.
That’s right. All cell phone activity, even hands free. LaHood called distracted driving a “national epidemic.”
The ban, I’m sorry to say is needed. I admit it; I talk on my phone when driving. I do it daily. I know it’s not safe, but I still do it. I do not look forward to the day when it becomes illegal. But the facts are clear. Distracted driving while using a mobile device causes more injuries and deaths than you could imagine.
The State of California has had a ban on drivers using hand-held cell-phones for almost four years now. A recent study showed that since the ban took effect, overall traffic deaths fell 22 percent. Deaths blamed on drivers using hand-held cell phones were down a whopping 47 percent. Bottom line: the ban has saved lives.
I don’t always put on sunscreen when I should. I don’t always eat the healthiest food. I don’t work out as much as I should. I do things that I know are bad for me. But thankfully these things only hurt me, no one else. When me, or you, or anyone else talks or texts while driving, we put others in danger. There’s no getting around that. As much as we feel the need to talk on our phones, we shouldn’t. Talking on our cell phones can put others in harm’s way.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 3,000 fatal traffic accidents nationwide last year were the result of distracted driving. The agency also estimates that using a cell phone while driving, delays reaction time the same amount as having a blood alcohol concentration of .08, the legal limit in Georgia.
In Georgia the only complete ban of cell phone use on drivers is for drivers that are under the age of 18 and all school bus drivers.
Currently 10 states (not Georgia) ban talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving. Thirty seven states (including Georgia) ban text messaging for all drivers.
The time has come for these bans to stretch through all 50 states. The numbers don’t lie.
Much like when I was a child and my mother forced me to take disgusting tasting medicine when I was sick, I’m going to hate a total cell phone ban, but I also know that in the end it’s going to be better.
