Cell Phone Use Should Be Prohibited While Driving Essay

Cell Phone Use Should Be Prohibited While Driving - Essay Example A 2005 study conducted by Virginia Tech found that 80% of all automobile crashes were associated with driver inattention (Box). Drivers that become distracted lose the concentration on the road that is necessary for safe driving. A distraction that lasts for only a few seconds, such as dialing a phone, can be sufficient to cause an accident. The study further found that the use of phones, and other wireless devices, was the leading cause of driver distraction events (Box). Young drivers, who are already struggling with driver safety, are put at even greater risk as we see the pervasive numbers of cell phones escalate in the 16-24 year old group ("Cell Phones and Driving"). All drivers need to focus on the task of driving and not be allowed to be distracted by a phone call. When we are driving, we rely on our peripheral vision to tell us the location of traffic that may be around us. When we have a cell phone to our ear we are limiting the vision from our left eye. Traffic to the left of us may go unnoticed or critical road signs may be missed. Using a cell phone while driving is like trying to drive with your left eye closed. Hands free devices offer little improvement as drivers develop tunnel vision while concentrating on the phone call and staring straight ahead (Evans).