Danger Of Cell Phones Usage While Driving

Apart from being the latest electronic gadgets, cell phones have become an integral part of everyone’s business and personal lives. They are used for scheduling appointments, calling for assistance, reporting emergencies, and maintaining contacts with family and office. Our hectic lifestyles leave us with no choice either. They have become the primary tools to carry out the daily mission. A popular line of cell phone manufacturer states, “It’s not just a phone, it’s who we are!” Often, we see people using cell phones while driving. This saves time to a certain extent but using a cell phone while driving can produce a number of hazards as well. Read on further to know the dangers of using cell phones while driving.

Cell Phone Driving Dangers

If you use a cell phone while driving, you are four times more likely to have a serious accident.
Driving while conversing on a cell phone diverts attention from your first responsibility: safely maneuvering a ton or more of rolling metal.
The US Department of Transportation reports that cell phone usage during driving is one of the contributors to accidents caused due to inattentive driving apart from eating, talking and applying make-up.
A study in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine reveals that the risk of having a traffic accident due to a cell phone is the same as that while driving drunk.
A study by Dr. Donald Redelmeier and Robert Tibshirani from Toronto say that the risk of cell phone driving is similar to the hazard associated with driving with a blood alcohol level at a legal limit.
The collision rate is four times higher than expected when the call is made less than 15 minutes before the accident.
To dial a number on your cell phone, you will have to take your eyes off the road. Hence, you become so engrossed in the conversation that you are no longer focusing on driving. This way, you are risking the safety of everyone in the car.
Although, using a headset or a hands-free phone instead of the instrument itself while driving improves safety, the danger is not eliminated totally.
Talking on the cell phone while driving increases both pedestrian deaths and those of drivers and passengers.
Young and old drivers with a cell phone essentially face the same risk.

Safety Measures

Give full attention to driving.
If available, use hands-free devices and include auto answer while driving.
Before answering or placing a call, pull off the road and park aside.
Safety should be your first and foremost responsibility while driving.

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