Should Cell Phones Be Outlawed While Driving

Even though I don't personally own a cell phone, I have at one time. I've noticed that talking on a cellular phone while driving doesn't make it hard to be distracted. It only takes a second for a car to drift off the road or into another lane and crash.

A study recently published in the Journal of Amerocan College Health looked at the association between near-accidents and accidents among college students and talking on a cell phone while driving. The paper was written by Dong-Chul Seo, a lecturer at Indiana University Bloomington's Department of Applied Health Science.

Seo analyzed responces fron 1,291 college students at five universities in four Midwest states during 2002-2003. Seo said 34 percent of the college students experienced car accidents resulting in property damage or injury. Another 30 percent had near accidents.

Of the 762 reported accidents or near-accidents, Seo said, 21 percent, or 159, involved drivers using a cell phone while driving. The reasons for the cell phone related accidents were talking while driving (45 percent), attempting to dial (20 percent), attempting to answer (13 percent), and a startling ring (7 percent).

What really interested Seo was the unexpected difference in the number of accidents between drivers using hand held phones and those using hands free models. Seo said the use of a hands free cell phone was involved in more accidents (14 percent) than hand held cell phones (4 percent).

This study reassures me of the dangers of cell phone use while driving. That cell phones should not be used at all while behind the wheel of a car. If you are in an emergency situation and must use a cell phone, you should pull over on the side of the road.

With cell phone use on the increase, yes I think using a cell phone while driving should be outlawed or banned.