Recently the state of Oregon imposed a new law on the usage of cellular devices whilst driving vehicles. Now if cameras catch people touching their electronic devices whilst driving, then they can receive up to a $500 fine. The law was set to try and prevent car accidents where drivers are distracted using their electronic devices. Because of modern technology people have been using their mobile devices more so distracted drivers was becoming an increasing problem. People sometimes drive like drunk monkeys. Though, this new law also applies when drivers are stopped at traffic lights. This has sparked some debate over whether this is going to far. Some ask, what if we need to reply to an important text or inform someone of their whereabouts? Or if there was an emergency and someone needed to call 911? Could it then lead to more deaths from responders not getting there in time? …show more content…
The new law that the state of Oregon has now put into use prevents or limits the use of these devices for the following: maps, texting, music, or something else. With modern technology paper maps have all but ceased to exist, now drivers rely on handheld devices such as phones to navigate their way around the world. The law now prevents them from setting those maps whilst driving, so if they needed to set a heading they would not be able to. This makes it more difficult for people who use electronic devices to navigate to get around. Therefore could the new law that was designed to improve driver safety end up harming the safety of drivers because they are having trouble getting around? Could it also harm the safety of drivers if drivers cannot use phones to contact emergency services if there was a
Should Oregon’s distracted driving law be changed? The distracted driving law for Oregon is that a driver cannot use a hand-held device while driving. However a hands-free device may be used if you are over the age of eighteen. The law aims to reduce distractions for drivers. It specifically prohibits cell phones to talk or text. The brain can only handle one major task at a time. If there are more than one task the brain will have to divert the attention from one to the other causing them to not focus on the other task. In the case of driving while texting they will be paying more attention to their phone than the road and can cause serious accidents. Driving while using a cell phone reduces the brain activity focused on driving by 37%.
On July 1st, California's laws against phones in cars were enacted. The first of the two laws stated that drivers above the age of 18 must use a device that is hands-free if they would like to talk on the phone. However, if they are in a medical or traffic emergency they can not use any device at all. Also, text messaging is unfortunately not banned except the patrol in California has brought to drivers' attention that they could be fined for irresponsible driving. In my opinion, I do think this law is a step in the right direction but I think that every driver should not be able to talk or do anything on any device while driving despite it being hands-free or not. This law may diminish the amount of accidents that are caused by phones,
The statistics prove that many accidents, that kill people, include phones, so people should have strict laws against using them while driving. This is just one of the many reasons to have strict laws against using a phone and driving, some states already
Kratsas stated that according to the National Safety Council’s Annual injury and fatality report, 26% of the accident in the United States are caused by the use of cellphones. Using cellphones while driving has been a chronic problem in America. The U.S. government of transportation have been trying to make laws that forbid using cellphones behind the wheel. According to an article by Marino, “10 states plus D.C prohibit all drivers from using handheld cellphones, 32 states and D.C. prohibit novice drivers from cell phone use, and 30 states plus D.C. prohibit all drivers from text messaging.” Even though there are laws that forbid
Could you live with the knowledge that you deciding to pick up your phone while driving a vehicle caused someone to be injured or be killed? Texting and driving puts others around you and even your passengers at risk of being involved in an accident. Texting while driving takes your eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, and focus away from the road. All new drivers are taught not to text and drive, but they continue to do it even though they know it is dangerous. Teens and adults today have trouble focusing on the road mostly because of smartphones. Drivers need to be aware of their own actions and the actions of others driving around them. Texting while driving laws need to be enforced more strictly. To ensure and prevent accidents,
Daily, thousands of accidents are occurring around the world due to distracted drivers. Scientifically proven, distracted driving is almost, if not worse, equivalent to drunk driving. Drunk driving is illegal therefore the use of cellphones while driving should also be illegal and not permitted. There are far too many innocent deaths caused from irresponsible drivers that are selfish to others on the road. Every driver has the opportunity to make their own decision, life, or simple yet life changing, a text. Virginia recently enforced the law of cell phones not being permitted while driving; many have not realized this enforcement. Normally, police officers will not pull someone
Many accidents are blamed on distracted driving and most of the distractions are caused by cell phone usage. However, some opponents feel that creating a law against cell phone use infringes their personal rights. Others think that banning someone from using their cell phones is equivalent to telling someone that they can't adjust their radio or chat with someone else in their car. However, using a cell phone, whether talking or texting, while driving can be extremely dangerous; it should be made illegal because it is very hazardous to yourself and the people surrounding you, can lead to the death of loved ones, and it is even compared to the danger level of drunk driving. No matter what age the driver is, under no
Cell phone use while driving is a terrible distraction. When driving a motor vehicle, you are supposed to be 100% focused on what’s going on around you. There are many crashes because of people using their cell phones while driving. People that cause the crash are severely injured, and so are the victims of the crash. The law should be enforced over the issue of texting and driving; it would save more lives.
Some say banning cellphones use while driving will not be enforceable because drivers do all sorts of other things that cause distracted driving- eating, kids, music etc. - (Froetscher, NYTE). Some say distracted driving is less dangerous than it seems or that it’s perfectly fine, however through research and evidence this can not possibly be true “particularly texting, that seems to be a really hazardous activity, much more dangerous than talking on the phone, raising to a level that exceeds what we see with someone who is drunk driving, ” (Austin 139,140).
In America, drivers become distracted by using their cell phones. Many young and old drivers are texting and using their phones while getting into accidents on the highway. In 2013, 424,000 injuries occurred in accidents involving distracted drivers (Ncsl.org, 2016). Fourteen states passed laws to ban using hand-held cell phones while driving. California, New York, and New Jersey are some of the states that banned driving while using cell phones. Although these states banned cell phone use while driving there are exceptions to the law. Law enforcement agents, Firefighters, Emergency medical technicians and State DOT employees can text and use their cell phones while driving (Ncsl.org, 2016). At the local, state, and federal level lawmakers are focusing their concern on distracted driving. Laws must exist to end texting and cell phone use while driving to save lives and keep roadways safe.
Some states have now made it illegal to drive while using a hand-held cell phone. Some people believe that states should not make it illegal to drive when using a cell phone. They argue that cell phones may be more resourceful and less distracting while driving. States should make it illegal to drive while using a cell phone. Driving with a cell phone can cause accidents, be distracting, can be tempting, and can cause loss of control of one's vehicle. Using a cell phone while driving can cause accidents. My friend, Chelsea, had an accident while using her cell phone. She was texting her mom about coming home and did not see the tractor trailor approaching her. She was hit by the tractor trailor and was in the hospital for two weeks
I understand it is hard to keep up with thing that involved technology. Especially when people do not know what will come tomorrow. There will be something new inventing every day, but that does not means we do not need to worry about the safety on roads. Before the main problem for the government was concern about was drunk driving, but now more incidents occur because of the excessive usage of new mobile devices (web). Now the Virginia state is more focusing on enforcing the new law about not using mobile devices while driving. Right now texting while driving is not the primary offense in Virginia. In order to give a ticket for
Has your life ever been affected by a tragic death? Well don’t let that happen again and lower your chance of doing so by putting that phone of yours away while driving! Texting and driving has been a problem ever since smart phones have come out. There are around 660,000 people daily who use cell phones while driving, according to the FCC. It is so common that almost everyone knows someone who has text and drove in the past or currently does it frequently.
Advancing technology in wireless communications is presenting a growing concern for distracted driving due to using cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. Although distracted driving accidents and fatalities have risen in the last decade, placing a ban on the use of a cell phone or other electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle as some states have will not resolve the issue. In fact a ban on cell phones and driving may very well increase the accident and fatality rate because drivers are now more involved with concealing their illegal behaviors. More citizen participation and drivers safety management should be more carefully considered in a transpiring situation such as this. More Americans should be
A escalated large number of mobile phones has very much made the road safety community aware of the mishaps that can occur on the road by using your cell phone. Not one person is a better-distracted driver than the next. There 's no such thing as a good distracted driver because I hear a lot of people saying that they could drive but if you 're driving distracted you can 't drive. Everybody thinks that they are the perfect driver, but being a great driver consist of driving by the rules for your safety and others. For this reason, standardized regulations laws should be in all states where the use of cell phones and driving are concerned. Research shows that between 20 or 30 percent of automobile accidents happen in the United States while being distracted for any reason such as, talking on the phone in a heated conversation, eating, adjusting the radio, looking off, rubber necking, etc, indicates the increases the risk by four. Other studies, based on driver simulation tests, conclude that people have difficulty multitasking. I really can say that any distraction while driving is dangerous. Driving should have the primary focus, and that 's keeping your eyes on the road at all times because it could be just a second glance of look at something and next thing you know you 're riding over in the next lane. I think every state should have regulations regarding the use of mobile devices.