NSC Wants to Band All Cell Phone Use While Driving

On Monday, January 12, 2009, the National Safety Council called on all US states to ban the use of cell phones while driving. As of today there are 23 states that have restrictions on cell phone use while driving.

According to the NSC 6% of all crashes are due to cell phone use while driving. This amounts to 636,000 crashes with 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths each year. Anything that can be done to reduce or eliminate deaths or serious injuries should be considered. Passing a law to ban ALL cell phone use, while driving, is not the answer; however applying restrictions in all 50 states is an alternative solution.

I live in New York, which is one of the states with cell phone restrictions, and I see people everyday driving with a cell phone in their hand. There are too many drivers who have no respect for the law or others and will continue to cause accidents and deaths while driving and using a cell phone. Each driver needs to be held responsible for their own wrong doings and punished accordingly.

There are going to be times when an emergency comes up that will require the use of a cell phone while driving. Whether it's to report a reckless driver on the road or an accident on the highway you could not stop for. Placing cell phone restrictions, while driving, in all US states is the way to go. And there will be times, in emergencies, where even cell phone restrictions may have to be broken.

Let's face facts; if there was a driving law for every driving distraction we would not have car radios, GPS devices, and two-way radios in automobiles. What it comes down to, if an accident was caused by a distraction, which may be hard to prove at times, the driver will need to be held accountable for his actions.