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Driven to Distraction, a Look into Cell Phone Use While Driving

Sheraea Marie Deckard

Indiana University Purdue University

Drummond W131
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Abstract

This paper explores many published articles that report on the dangers of cell phone use while

driving. The main point of this article questions the debate on the ban of cell phone use while

driving. The reader can draw their own conclusion from the information that is provided.

Research, reports, and statistics that were from several sources, including: The National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the National Automotive Sampling System

(NASS), the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

(VTTI). Concluding that cell phone use while driving is dangerous and potentially deadly.
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A Look into Cell Phone Use While Driving

It may not be long before you hear this on the phone, “Let me call you back, I just got

into an accident!” Cell phone use while driving is on the rise. Today the average driver faces

several distractions while, behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. These distractions may impair

the drivers decision making abilities and reaction time in the presence of danger. One distraction

that has raised concerns among some is the use of a cell phone while driving. It is reported that

our nation now has more cell phone subscribers, 270 million in comparison to the 254 million

registered vehicles. With the rise of cell phone users and the increasing number of reported

accidents caused by a driver on the phone, lawmakers are now faced with one question. How

dangerous it is to operate a motor vehicle and use a cell phone simultaneously, and whether a ban

should be put into place making it illegal for motorist to use a cell phone while driving.

Finding the answer seems to have spawned more questions than answers. It has sparked a

debate between those for, and those against, a ban on cell phone use while driving. Some

motorists believe that placing a ban against the use of cell phones while driving would be

premature. To date, no data is reliable enough to effectively prove or discredit the claim, that cell

phone use while driving is dangerous enough to issue a ban. In a report by The National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, researchers suggest that the number of accidents per

year caused by distracted drivers on their phone is hard to predict given that the cause of an

accident can often go unreported, by the officer or the driver thus making the statistics being

considered unreliable.

Another underlying issue is that each state has their own regulations, in regards to

reporting the cause of an accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

(NHTSA) uses a variety of data sources including: the National Automotive Sampling System
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(NASS) and the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to monitor trends and evaluate the

effects of some countermeasures. FARS and NASS have both attempted to identify pre-crash

factors caused by the use of cell phones by using police crash reports, as a source of information.

Although there is a problem with under-reporting in the data, the results suggest that there is a

growing increase in the number of cell phone related accidents. The most common pre-crash

condition found was driver inattention.

Research conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, used a driving

simulator to show the increase risk of a crash, or near crash in three instances. A driver dialing

the phone was 2.8 times more likely to crash than the non-distracted driver. A motorist on the

phone was 1.3 times more likely to be involved in an accident, than the non-distracted driver and

a driver reaching for the phone was 1.4 times more likely to crash than that of a non-distracted

driver. The research also showed that texting had the longest duration of eyes-off-road time,

increasing the driver’s probability of an accident by twenty-percent. The average eyes-off-road

time reported was between 4.5 seconds to 6 seconds, equating to the length of a football field of

distracted driving time, at the rate of 55mph.

Conclusion of the report, by the NHTSA, states that cell phone use while driving does

increase the risk of a crash given the available evidence, trends in the data, growing complexity

of technology and the potential distraction caused from phones. The extent of cell phone related

incidents were examined and deemed inconclusive due to inadequate reports. However, studies

indicate there will be an increase in cell-phone related accidents with the increasing number of

cell phone users.

Text messaging while driving is a serious and potentially life threatening in car task that

many drivers today overlook. In the above mentioned report by VTTI, driving simulators used
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for research, suggested the average driver travels the length of a football field with their eyes off

the road. The length of a football field is 360 feet or 120 yards. If a motorist can drive 360 feet in

approximately 5 seconds, can you imagine all the details the motorist may miss, including, but

not limited to: pedestrians, animals, on-coming vehicles, solid non moving objects, traffic signals

and signs? Not only is this distraction potentially dangerous and life threatening to the driver, it

can be for anyone around as well!

Texting may possibly be the most common and risky distraction related to the use of cell

phones while driving. However, it is not the only one as other factors associated within car phone

use include: highly emotional conversations, reaching for the phone, dialing a number, changing

or messing with the phone settings. All are unnecessary risks when the answer is simply to pull

over to use the phone. Some drivers may find that stopping to use their phone would prove to be

a lot easier than the emergency room they may visit, medical expenses they may occur and

insurance rates sky-rocketing, as a result from this deadly distraction.

Click it or Ticket is a campaign ran by most states, encouraging motorist to buckle up for

their own good. The slogan, click it or ticket, reminds drivers that safety comes first. If

lawmakers can pass a law making it illegal for a motorist to not wear their seatbelts, then why

not pass a law against the use of cell phones while driving? A driver who is not wearing their

seatbelt is only putting their life at risk, yet the cell phone ban is a debate? Each state should

place a ban on cell phone use while driving, bottom line, it only makes sense. Cell phone use

while driving is dangerous! Some would argue that it is unfair for a person to be treated more

harshly for irrational driving while on the phone, than a motorist driving irrationally because

they are eating. I strongly disagree, and believe each motorist should be responsible for their

actions.
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Another argument against the cell phone ban, is that drivers have become accustomed to

using a cell phone while driving, and a ban would just cause confusion and controversy. This

may be true, but drivers would adapt. People complained when the campaign, click it or ticket

first hit the road, but motorist quickly adapted. In 2007 seatbelts saved an estimated 15,147 lives

thanks to the campaign and law that were passed. It brought attention to motorists through

education and discipline and with that said, a ban on cell phone use nationwide would only save

lives. While a nationwide ban may not seize all rebels of the road the penalty for the infraction

would certainly deter drivers.

Perhaps, an educational video broadcast could be our nations’ first step in raising the

awareness of all motorists of any age. In the U.K a public safety announcement aired a very

vivid and graphic video last month of a car crash caused by a teen girl who was texting on her

phone. The video, although simulated, has intrigued many people around the world. The video

shows a young teen and her two friends heading to a party, as they giggle and laugh in

excitement over their night to come. The driver, distracted by texting, collides head on with an

oncoming car. The video simulated what would happen inside the teen’s car as they were hit.

Once settled, the teen’s car is struck again by another oncoming car. It sends eerie chills down

the spine of any viewer, and tears to the eyes of parents, as they pan to the car stuck head on by

the teen, which shows the lifeless eyes of a newborn in the back seat, along with her sister, who

is repeatedly saying, “mommy, daddy, are you okay?” as her parents lay lifeless in the front seat.

The video shows the aftermath of this horrific accident, as the helicopter flies in to take the teen

driver, who is one of the only survivors, off to the hospital, and leaves the viewer thinking of

their own actions behind the wheel and the consequences it can have on others.
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While no one seems to disagree that the use of a cell phone while driving is indeed

dangerous and potentially deadly, the question becomes, how do we fix this phenomenon.

Awareness needs to be raised concerning the safety hazard caused by cell-phone use while

driving. Each state should require reporting of cell-phone related accidents and include an

investigation team. All new drivers should be educated about the dangerous of cell-phone use

behind the wheel, and the Federal Government should make the USB hands free device, which

plugs into the radio and turns the speakers into a speakerphone, cheap and affordable, to

encourage drivers to drive more safely.

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References

Albanesius, Ckloe. Jan 2009. Sending the wrong message. PC Magazine. Web. 23 Sept. 2009

Burbank, Linda. March 2009. Hang up and drive. National Geographic Traveler. Web. 23

Sept. 2009

Freeman, Sholnn. July 2009. Texting and driving don’t mix. The Washington Post. Web.

30 Sept. 2009

O’Donnell, Jayne. March 2009. States target distracted drivers. USA Today. Web. 23 Sept.

2009

Schulte, Bret. Feb. 2008. Outlawing text messaging while driving. U.S. News. Web 30 Sept.

2009

Townes, Glenn. Nov. 2007. Texting plus driving equals a ticket in New Jersey. New York

Amsterdam News. Web. 23 Sept. 2009.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vehicle Safety Research. Web. 30 Spet.

2009.< www.nhtsa.gov >

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Web. 30 Sept. 2009