Traffic Safety Board Urges Cell Phone Ban
The National Traffic and Safety Board in Washington D.C. have agreed to a recommendation to ban the use of cell phones while driving including hands-free and hand-held phone systems. This recommended ban comes just over a year after a fatal traffic accident in Missouri that took the life of a 19-year-old driver operating a pickup truck. Officials found that the driver had received 11 text messages in 11 minutes just before the crash had occurred. The accident occurred when the pickup truck slammed into a tractor-trailer and 2 school buses subsequently collided with the pickup truck.
The driver of the truck and a student on one of the school buses was killed as a result of this accident. Nearly 40 people were injured in the accident as well.
According to a survey conducted by the NHTSA, many drivers believe that texting and cell phone use in general is only dangerous when others are doing it but not when they are doing it themselves. However, the real truth is that regardless of who is using a cell phone while driving, everybody is put in danger because of those actions and everybody could end up in a serious accident. Distracted driving is one of many significant causes of automobile accidents resulting from many drivers texting, trying to change the radio station, and otherwise taking away their focus from the roadway. Although some may not want to face the truth of the situation; it is extremely easy for anybody to end up in an automobile accident because of distracted driving.
To some, banning the use of cell phones while driving may seem like too severe a law to enact in the United States. However, if more people were aware of the number of accidents that occur as a result of distracted driving, particularly associated with texting or otherwise using a cell phone while driving, many people would see that it is a very serious danger. Accidents caused by distracted driving can cause serious injuries to all parties involved and can lead to fatalities as well.
Anyone who is injured or loses a loved one as a result of a distracted driving accident should be able to get the assistance they may require to get compensation and justice for their pain, suffering, and the damages they have to pay for as a result of the accident. Distracted driving should never be a factor in any automobile accident. As long as laws such as this one take effect and more and more people pay attention to them, the number of accidents related to cell phone usage could be reduced.
