Name: Obinna Ekeagwu
From: Alexandria, Virginia
Votes: 0
Traffic
violence is a public health crisis and should be treated as such.
Every day, it kills 90 people and injures over 8,000 (5,000+
permanently).1
If a disease forever sickened a city the size of Chicago every year,
everybody would work to cure it.
We need this urgency for auto accidents. Cell
phones cause 26% of these accidents nationwide.6
However, 19 states allow hand-held phones in cars.2
One
would think the other 31 states have fewer car crashes. They do not
because people are switching to hands-free devices. 80% of Americans
believe hands-free devices are safe.8
However, both handheld and hands-free devices block half of a
driver’s view.4
Yet, no state has a complete hands-free device ban and 10 states have
no restrictions.2
The National Safety Council and the AAA support banning hands-free
phone use.4,
5
Such bans could be enforced through “high visibility mobilization.”
Informing drivers of increased police enforcement of a law has worked
for drunk driving, speeding, and seat belts.3
To decrease distracted driving deaths, there should be national
standards regarding handheld and hands-free phone use.
But
establishing nationwide guidelines is easier said than done.
Thus, when governments cannot act, we
must take ownership. Guns kill about as many people as cars do;10
I wouldn’t use my phone or have a conversation while firing a gun.
Why do so while driving a car? If I impulsively grab my phone upon
receiving a notification, I should put it out of reach. I can
wirelessly connect it to Bluetooth for emergencies, but usually
notifications can wait. When I am safe in my car, people can pick up
on my behavior and copy it in their cars.
I
consider if I most value my Snapchat streak or my living streak. If
someone chooses their Snapchat streak, they should explain that
decision to Marianela Murillo and her kids John and Lisa. They died
when a driver using Snapchat’s speedometer at 115 mph slammed into
Murillo’s van.11
I know that nothing on my phone is worth a life.
I
don’t have any vivid memories of irresponsible driving, but I, like
everyone else, have heard texting while driving is bad. But each
distracted driving death is one too many times that the message did
not get across. For inspiration, one can look at Norway’s driver
education system. The student-teacher relationship ensures that
everything taught can be imagined on the road. As the teacher
introduces more of the variables involved in driving, the student
learns the importance of focus.9
This may be why Norway has the 3rd fewest traffic deaths per capita
and per vehicle.7
Every
time a driver uses a cell phone and kills someone is a failure of our
government and society to stop traffic violence. If the government
cannot enact national cell phone usage guidelines, we must take
responsibility for our dangerous actions in cars. That is why driver
education must illustrate to people the deadly risks of losing focus
on the road. Unlike text messages, this cannot wait.
References
(APA)
-
Car
accident statistics in the U.S. [Infographic]. (n.d.). Retrieved -
Cellular
phone use and texting while driving laws. (n.d.). Retrieved August
1, 2019, from National Conference of State Legislatures website:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/cellular-phone-use-and-texting-while-driving-laws.aspx -
The
Editors. (2009, July 18). Should cellphone use by drivers be
illegal? Retrieved August 1, 2019, from
https://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/should-cellphone-use-by-drivers-be-illegal/ -
Hersman,
D. A.P. (2018, January 11). Distracted driving dangers and
solutions. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from National Safety Council
website:
https://www.nsc.org/company/speeches-testimony/testimony-textalyzer -
How
effective are new distracted driving laws? (n.d.). Retrieved August
1, 2019, from
-
Lane,
K. (2014, March 25). NSC releases latest injury and fatality
statistics and trends [Press release]. Retrieved from
https://www.nsc.org/Portals/0/Documents/NewsDocuments/2014-Press-Release-Archive/3-25-2014-Injury-Facts-release.pdf -
List
of countries by traffic-related death rate. (2019, July 6). In
Wikipedia.
Retrieved August 1, 2019, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate -
Mohn,
T. (2014, April 28). Most drivers believe hands-free cell phones are
safer – a mistake, a new poll says. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2014/04/28/most-drivers-believe-hands-free-cell-phones-are-safer-a-mistake-a-new-poll-says/ -
Rismark,
M., & Sølvberg, A. M. (2007). Effective dialogues in driver
education. Accident
Analysis & Prevention,
39(3), 600-605. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.aap.2006.10.008.
https://www.cambsdriveiq.co.uk/Effective_dialogues_in_driver_education.pdf -
Thompson,
D. (2018, December 19). More U.S. kids dying from guns, car
accidents. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from
https://www.webmd.com/children/news/20181219/
more-us-kids-dying-from-guns-car-accidents -
WTSP
Staff. (2016, October 28). Snapchat video shows driver going 115 mph
moments before fatal crash. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/snapchat-video-shows-driver-going-115-mph-moments-before-fatal-crash/67-343749053
