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The National Transportation Safety Board called this week for all states to prohibit drivers from using any cell phone - including hands-free devices. In the UK and other European countries cell phone use while driving has already been banned. Make a call while you’re driving in England and you will be subject to a fine, do it in Holland and you’ll get a hefty fine and possibly get locked up for two weeks. Americans wouldn’t stand for that encroachment on their liberty would they? It’s been hard enough getting them to wear seat belts! But when you see the statistics for deaths and injuries due to cell phone use while driving, you can see why something needs to be done and no, the alternative is not to get a hands-free device, studies show that it makes no difference. Why is this? Most people think that they can multi-task, in this case pay attention to the road and have a heated argument with someone at the same time. The human brain can only concentrate on one thing at once, multi tasking is possible but if you’re doing five things at once, each task only gets 20% of your complete and undivided attention. This is a scientific fact. Studies show that if a teenager is driving and talking (we dread to say texting) their reaction times are about the same as someone who is 70 years old. They don’t react to brake lights, take longer to accelerate and get back into the flow of traffic, pedestrians become a serious risk and road signs glanced at (possibly) but it takes much longer for the information to sink in. Cell phone use causes approximately 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States each year and an alarming proportion of those deaths and injuries are young inexperienced drivers. It’s not getting any better with the new technology either. We now have mini-computers in our hands. We can surf the web, check our emails, and text if we want to, all while going 70 mph. For me that also includes groping around for glasses so I can see what’s going on! The difference is I pull over - I haven’t had an accident in 40 years and I am not going to risk my life because my husband wants to know where the cheese is! Next time you go to an electronics store take all your old cell phones with you and recycle them. As you drop each one into the box say a big thank you that you’re still alive and you weren’t one of those 332,600 killed or injured. When you leave buckle up and put your phone on silent, put on some music and concentrate on the road. Learn more about recycle mobile options and recycle iPhone 3G 8GB ideas.
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