Should cell phones and other multitasking be banned/reprimanded while driving?

Question

I'm writing a human interest / position paper for my univeristy & I am looking for oppinions of other people that are not on campus & are random selection from the general population. This is not a homework assignment that I am looking for the easy way out! I am just looking for oppinions: "Should we ban cell phone use while driving...along with other multitasking?" This is a dangerous act & the fatalities can be reduced by enforcing the law. But cell phone use while driving is also good for emergencies. For facts & stats I am contacting the A.P.A, local police stations, accident reports from missouri, & a few other sources...but if you have any ideas please please let me know. Also, if u have an amazing answer i will contact you about possibly using u (correctly!) as a source in my paper! SO any real ideas & oppinions about the subject & any other sources would be amazing! None of your ideas will be used unless i contact u for permission and correct info!
Thanks-a-million guys!

Answer 1

I think that every person who drives with a dog or other animal on their lap while driving should be pulled over and given a ticket for dangerous operating and animal cruelty for putting the animal in the position of being an airbag if they were to get into an accident. I think that is absolutely stupid. To risk the lives of others on the road for little poopsie is ridiculous (can you tell that bugs me?) In short I think that it should be banned, that is why we have hands free cell accessories and speaker phone and phones built into our vehicles.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Listening to or having a conversation while you are driving and other multitasking is very dangerous not only for you but for others on the road. In the state of Texas if you get caught by police that you are talking on the phone while you are driving you will be given a ticket and if it repeats they can take your license away, there are other state that have similar rules or regulations, Texas is not the first.
Also you said this, "But cell phone use while driving is also good for emergencies." Depending on what the emergency is. If you have a flat tire or ran out of gas, yes than cell phone use is permissible, however, what possible emergency can you have "while driving"? If you have an accident and some one else involve or others see that you were involved in an accident, the other people or some one would have contacted the emergency services but there is no way that you will have any emergency while you are talking on the phone while you are driving, because if there is an emergency you will surely stop your vehicle and asses that emergency.
In 2003 I was rear ended by a young kid who was going to school, I was stopping at full stop to turn left and he was speeding 70mph on a 50mph speed limit. Some lady who saw the accident called the police and the ambulance for me, she stayed at the scene and told the police that she saw the kid was talking on the phone and rear ended my car. From that car accident I had to have a spinal surgery because my spine was injured and from that, I lost my job.
So, talking on the phone and doing other things while you drive is not good for you or others period. That kid could have killed me from not paying attention on the road and using a cell phone while he was driving.
I would say that talking on a cell phone while you are driving should be banned and those who does it should be fined or citated and if they cause and accident they should go to jail and they will be financially liable for that person's medical bills. Also that their insurance should be charged outrageous amount because driving while you are talking on the phone can get you killed or get some one else killed.
Many people are talking that you can used a handsfree apparatus or a blue tooth ear piece, this still takes the driver's attention away from driving because not only that the driver takes in conversation, the driver is also multitasking while he or she is speaking on the phone and having to drive and maneuver his or her vehicle in traffic. No matter what, driving while talking on the phone with or without the use of blue tooth device is still dangerous for you and for others.

Answer 4

I think cell phone use should be banned while driving. I will answer the phone if I am driving but if it is going to take more than about a minute I will pull over and finish the conversation. Sometimes I will even tell the person I will call back in a few minutes then pull over and call back. Some people talk on a cell phone while driving just because they are bored and that is not right. I have heard that cell phone use increases your risk of being in an accident by an amount similar to driving drunk.

Answer 5

Actually I think multi tasking is illegal while driving. I mean if a cop notices you watch a TV in the dashboard I am sure he will jump right on it. If it's a hazard while driving it is illegal. the problem is though is it's kind of hard to tell who is doing the multitasking. Cops have to depend on a good eye in order to catch these people, and at the same time it will be hard to get evidence against the person in violation simply because the camera in the cop car probably wouldnt pick up what the person is doing at say 30 m.p.h.

I mean by the time the cop gets a good shot with his camera the person is probably already done with the violation, or covering it up.

Answer 6

Cell phone handsets pose a danger when driving. You lose the function of one hand and one ear when using one. This significantly distracts you and could cause an accident. Hands-free apparatus are much better, and is not much different from speaking to a passenger in the car. I think cell phone handset use should be banned for the operator of a vehicle while it is moving. If it's parked, it's fine, if it's hands free, it's fine.

Answer 7

All states should include a multiple task portion of the driving test and if your not capable of doing at minimum 6 things simultaneously then you fail to receive a license to operate a motor vehicle. It has been proven the most anyone can do at the same time is seven things and since your operating a vehicle at high speed with such potential lethality then 6 should the threshold on the test for all drivers!

Answer 8

Yes...I think that anything that takes your attention away from the task at hand...driving...is a problem.

6 years ago I was driving home, less than 100 ft from my driveway when another drivers cell phone rang. They net down to pick it up and swerved into my lane hitting my car and totally it. I was remarkably not hurt, but I now firmly believe that a driver should not be using a phone while driving

Answer 9

If someone doesn't have the ability to multi-task, then they shouldn't be driving. Driving is multi-tasking.

I don't believe that privileges need to be taken away because someone can't pay attention to the road and other drivers while they're on the phone or eating or drinking etc...

Good luck with your paper...

Answer 10

Cell Phones Yes, and picking your nose is very dangerous while driving!~!