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E-mail a friendYOUNG VOICES
Hang Up and Drive? Not Likely.
If you have a cell phone and a car, chances are you occasionally or habitually use them at the same time. Whether you're addicted to on-the-road texting, or are vigilant about using your hands-free headset, the distraction of using a mobile phone while driving could be a danger to yourself and those around you.
This, at least, is the focus of a lengthy New York Times article this weekend. The story probes the dangers of using mobile phones while driving and wonders why less has been done to make such activities illegal.
The article cites studies that claim that using your cell phone while driving makes you four times more likely to cause an accident, and likens your attentiveness in such situations to someone with a .08 percent blood alcohol level. Think your Bluetooth headset solves the problem? Think again. Apparently, the act of talking on the phone, whether you have both hands on the wheel or not, is just as bad.
Okay, so we all know that talking on the phone and driving isn't ideal. We've all been cut off by inattentive drivers on their cell phones and wanted to shout at them, “Just hang up the phone and drive!” But are we ready to follow our own advice?
While banning using handsets while driving is a fairly obvious fix and has been implemented in a handful of cities and states around the country, according to these studies, that may not make enough difference. Not to mention the difficulty of enforcing such laws. If the conversation keeps moving in the current direction, there will soon be no differentiation between hands-free phone use and holding it up to your ear.
The debate has begun to closely resemble the early warnings about smoking in the 1950s and how dangerous it was for human health. Even so, even with warnings on the labels, there are still lots of smokers out there.
So are we ready to stop yakking while we drive in the interest of our safety and the safety of those around us? The short answer is no, we're not. Not yet anyway. We're addicted to our phones, and won't give up using them while driving without a serious fight.