Cell Phones and Driving: A Big Distraction

There are a lot of risks with regard to the use of cell phones and driving. Driver inattention can lead to a lot of serious accidents, sometimes even proving fatal. It is ethically wrong to put other people's lives in jeopardy because of one's own negligence - yet an astonishing number of people do so. The advances in technology are often misused by people and cells phones and driving are no exception.

The increased prevalence of cell phones worldwide has lead to a lot of people using their cell phones while driving. People are beginning to depend on the cell phone so much that they do not think twice before taking a call while they drive. Cell phones and driving should not mix. First of all, to type out a text message or dial a number, drivers take their eyes off the road. Second, talking on the cell phones and driving can prove very distracting for the driver, because he or she is concentrating more on the conversation than the driving.

Cell phones and driving have proven to be one of the most common causes of serious and sometimes fatal road accidents. Drivers using their cell phones while driving put themselves, the people around them and their vehicles at risk by doing so, thereby jeopardizing a lot of lives all for a transient phone conversation.

Granted, cell phones are very convenient, but they also pose a serious risk when used in conjunction with driving. The problem is that we develop great technology and then misuse it - cell phones are not to be blamed for the accidents caused when cell phones and driving occur simultaneously, but the people who mix cell phones are driving are to be held responsible. Inattentive drivers end up harming themselves and other people - a cell phone conversation is simply not worth all the damage inattentive driving can cause. Driving comes with responsibility, and using cell phones and driving is a misuse of this responsibility.

Forty nations around the world legally prohibit or greatly restrict using cell phones and driving, and many businesses encourage their employees to refrain from using their cell phones while they drive. Cell phones and driving are talked about and mixing them up is universally frowned upon, yet many drivers indulge in this activity, because they think they can manage not to have an accident while using their cell phones and driving, but the fact is that many of them do and by then it is too late.

People who support restrictions on the use of cell phones and driving concurrently claim that of all the distractions that one can encounter while driving, using cell phones and driving is the most distracting. Many organizations and employers may be held with charges of vicarious responsibility for work related calls in context with cell phones and driving. The negligence caused by these employees exhibited in the use of cell phones and driving at the same time may lead to the employees being held accountable for any accidents and damage caused.

Employees may also be help guilty of negligence if they neglect to put a clause regarding proper use of cell phones and driving. For these reasons, many companies have strict policies for their employees against the use of cell phones and driving at the same time. Whereas some go as far as to ban the use of cell phones and driving completely, others allow employees to use cell phones while driving as long as they pull over, finish the conversation and only then start to drive again.