Distracted Driving The Scourge Of Talking On A Hand-held Phone And Texting

Using a cell phone is okay but using it while driving is a bane

. Using a cell phone while driving creates distraction and it seems to be getting worse every year. This kind of distracted driving has become an epidemic because almost everyone has a cellphone and everyone wants to use it. For many their cars are their offices and the cellphone, a professional lifeline. They answer and dial to share information despite the fact that they know it is a bad idea to chat while driving. They are confident that they are in control and hope that it is not an illegal act or that nobody would notice. Californias first lady was filmed thrice talking on a hand-held phone while driving. Distracted driving using a cell phone on the road has been strongly implicated in vehicular accidents. Distracted driving deaths increased to 5,870 in 2008, according to the US Department of Transportation.

Dangers of cellphone use in automobiles:

* Talking on a cellphone while driving is far more dangerous than anybody can realize

* A driver on a hand-held phone has the same reaction speed as someone legally drunk

* Those talking on a hand-held phone behind the wheel are four times as likely to crash as when they are drunk

* Texting while driving has now emerged as the new drunk driving. Texting while driving caused more than 16,000 road fatalities between 2002 and 2007

* Texting behind the wheel is a huge distraction because youre taking your mind off the road but also your eyes off the road

* Texting while driving and tech toys like iPods and GPS devices are a public safety hazard and had caused total distracted driving deaths to rise

* Hands-free headsets advertised as safer are not any better in alleviating the dangers of distracted driving

Every month, thousands of motorists flout the states ban on talking on hand-held cellphones while driving. They do it on the highway and while driving through city. Drivers text at the traffic signals or check e-mails only with one hand on the wheel.

The fight against distracted driving

State highway patrols cellphone citations are up from last year. This suggests that the fight against distracted driving could be much harder than the public-safety efforts against drunk driving. A growing movement of crash victims families, academic researchers, and public-safety advocates is campaigning against distracted driving.

Call 1-800 US LEMON (800-875-3666) toll free to reach California Lemon Law attorneys for free consultation.

Text messaging code against distracted driving to keep the streets safer

* The US Department of Transportation hosted a Distracted Driving Summit recently and the Secretary of Transportation called for action against the unsafe, irresponsible and devastating distracted driving

* The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that the increasing number of bans on distracted driving requires continued enforcement and education

* Thirty states and Washington DC now prohibit texting while driving

* Around a dozen states have outlawed cell phones on the road unless they are operated in a hands-free manner via earpieces or Bluetooth enabled systems

* Many more states restrict or prohibit the use of cellphones by teenagers

* Some cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Oahu, Hawaii, have cellphone and driving bans now, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

* Eight states plus D.C. outlaw any handheld cellphone use while driving. Drivers in California can be pulled over for hand-held cellphone use

* School and transit bus drivers are banned from using any cell phone, hands-free or not

In circumstances where the text messaging code is violated or in traffic accidents caused by text messaging, drivers under 18 face a $20 fine for hands-free cell phone use if it is detected during a traffic stop for another offense. A bill is pending in the California legislature that would increase the first offense fine to $50. Highway patrol has been conducting several zero-tolerance crackdowns in an effort to catch violators. The base fine is $20 for first-time offenders and the chatting motorists would pay around $100 and repeat offenders may have to pay thrice as much.

by: Krohn & Moss

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