should cell phones be banned while driving?

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Should the Use of Cell phones while Driving should be banned?
Cellular phones and personal communications devices have become a necessity in our society. Proponents of the ban, say that distractions associated with cell phone use while driving are more dangerous than other distractions. Opponents of cell-phone restrictions think drivers are more easily distracted by other everyday activities, such as talking to the person in the passenger seat. Thus, driving is a privilege. Therefore, cell phone use should be banned while driving because phones cause the driver to be distracted and causes accidents.
To begin with, talking on a phone while driving reduces the competence level to control the vehicle as well as lose focus on the road. For example, the driver has to multitask by dividing their attention between the phone and driving. At any given time, the driver can instantly cause an accident. In the article “A Decrease in Brain Activation Associated with Driving When Listening to Someone Speak”, the author states “that simulated driving performance is also disrupted by conversations using hands-free devices and epidemiological studies of real-world accidents suggest that users of hands-free phones are just as likely to have an accident as users of hand-held devices “. More precisely, driving and using a cell phone are two separate activities. Speaking on a portable mobile phone is an anti-social activity because it puts the lives of others at risk.

Next, in the article the author explains that initially, researchers thought that the dangers concerning using a cell phone while driving came from the manual aspects of its use, as it decreased driving performance. Following that argument, the author focused his attention on hands-free devices and found drivers using those devices as prone to suffer accidents, as those who used their cell phone traditionally. Last, using previous research the author states that the problem is not in the manual use of the cell phone, instead the deterioration of driving performance is a result of “competition for mental resources at a central cognitive level rather than at a motor output level”. The evidence shows that when two different activities are competing for brain resources, it tends to prioritize, and in many cases it prioritizes the conversation, rather than the mechanical activity of driving. In that light, it is accurate to say that most of the accidents related to driving while using a cell phone are due to absentmindedness related to the evidence previously shown.
However, while banning the use of mobile devices is a good idea that should be encouraged, it is not feasible to put a law that prohibits mobile device usage. In passage B, the author inserts an interesting note “There are a lot of variables in play here and a national ban like the one in question will be enforced arbitrarily” For example, police officers will have a hard time distinguishing if a driver is using a mobile device or not, those confusions could lead to unlawful searches and even incarcerations. Some advantages of using a cell phone and driving are that if the drivers are in a trouble or stuck in a ditch, they would have the tools to call for help. In that case, driving and having a cell phone would not cause an accident, it would prevent it. In passage B, the author states “while they drive, people eat, listen to music, talk with passengers, gawk at billboards and pedestrians, and engage in all sorts of activities that could be considered dangerous to themselves or others. Do we ban these as well?” After weighing the risks against the benefits of cell phone use, it is found that the benefits far exceed the risks.
In conclusion, banning the use of phones while driving can reduce the risk accidents and decrease accidents on the road, and prohibiting the use of cell phone will make the road a safer place in the future. However, it is important that drivers also use their judgment on the road to avoid accidents. Driving might be a mechanical activity engaged almost without thinking, but the brain is always working. That is why despite the difficulties of enforcing bans on the use of cell phones while driving, the benefits exceed the hassles it could cause.