In 2009 the National Safety Council called upon state and federal lawmakers to ban cell phone use and texting while driving. According to the National Safety Council, texting or using a cell phone while driving is as dangerous as drunk driving. This point has been proven by research. In a University of Utah study conducted by David Strayer, a startling conclusion was drawn concerning people who text while driving.
The study conducted in a laboratory that simulates the driving experience, showed that people who text while driving take their eyes off the road for the same amount of time required to drive the length of a football field. Researchers found that texting while driving impairs the driver cognitively. Strayer's research found that those who text while driving are twice as impaired as a drunk driver. The study also showed that using a hand held device like a cell phone delays reaction time in the same way as a.08 blood alcohol concentration.
Additionally, the Utah study showed that texting while driving quadruples a person's chances of having an accident. National Transportation Administration statistics indicate that in 2008, at least 500,000 persons were injured and 6000 were killed as a result of drivers being distracted. Using a cell phone, whether talking or texting tops the list of driver distractions. It should be noted that most of those who are involved in texting while driving accidents are individuals under twenty year of age. These are referred to as novice drivers by states that have enacted laws against texting while driving.
Imagine being injured or killed by a driver who is talking on a cell phone or texting. Imagine being the individual who is guilty of killing or maiming another as a result of distracted or impaired driving. Families are hurt by the loss or injury of their loved one, and the guilty party who will likely be incarcerated loses freedom and his or her reputation. This is a situation that causes unnecessary pain and suffering for all involved.
Worst of all, such pain and suffering is inflicted by an individual who makes the selfish choice to participate in an unnecessary activity that results in needless loss. Texting while driving is a willful act, a choice made by the person who decides to text and a risky endeavor for both novice and veteran drivers. Currently, seven states prohibit the use of hand held cell phones while driving. Those states are California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
Additionally, twenty-one states ban novice or new drivers from using cell phones while driving and school bus drivers are banned from text messaging in seventeen states. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, some local jurisdictions and cities like Chicago and Detroit have enacted their own restrictions on cell phone use while driving. Each state has its own penalties for dealing with persons who text while driving. However in Utah, one of the leaders in passing laws against texting while driving, a person who kills another as a result of texting while driving can receive a prison term of up to fifteen years.