Eliminate an inhibitor: Ban driving while talking on cell phones

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From The Daily Iowan:

You’re at a stop light, and your phone rings. It’s your father. The light changes to green, and you accelerate. The next thing you know, you’re blind-sided by another driver. Unfortunately, this scenario has become all too common since the rise of cell phones.

On Monday, the Governor’s Highway Safety Association announced its support for banning text messaging while driving in all motor vehicles.

Iowa should go even further.

Six states have banned hand-held cell phone use for all drivers, according to the nonprofit governors’ group. Eighteen states prohibit text messaging while driving. Late last month, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., proposed a bill that would ban cell-phone use among drivers in all 50 states. If federal legislation passes, state action would be moot. If the federal legislation isn’t approved, the state should consider its own expansive cell-phone ban to prevent Iowans from becoming just another dire statistic in this growing problem. The propensity for accidents is just too high. Drunk driving alone kills too many; we don’t need an additional driving order cialis.

On this issue, the statistics back up the common sense, with research consistently showing that cell-phone use is dangerous for drivers. A University of Utah study found that talking on the phone while driving causes the same impairment as driving drunk. The comparison may seem hyperbolic to some, but it underscores the potentially fatal nature of the driving distraction. A similar study conducted by the Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that people using a cell phone while driving were four times more likely to get in an accident. Texting increases the crash risk or the risk of a near-crash by 23 times, the group found.

Closer to home, Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said a countywide prohibition wouldn’t work in a “legal, technical sense.” In order for any ordinance of this kind to pass, all the city councils of the county would have to approve the ban. The county Board of Supervisors would then have to pass the same ordinance for the unincorporated areas of the county.

“I don’t think that is even possible,” Pulkrabek said.

A statewide approach is more likely. Indeed, several state lawmakers — including Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City — have proposed legislation that would bar drivers from using cell phones or other hand-held devices while operating a vehicle. Bolkcom’s bill, which will still be active when the Iowa Legislature reconvenes in January, would exempt hand-held devices from such a ban.

Pulkrabek said that banning drivers from using cell phones would be difficult to enforce, and certain exceptions must be made. The issue of texting “would be the most important,” he said.

As Bolkcom told the DI, now it’s just up to the legislators to see the evidence and go to their constituents with the facts. While civil-liberty activists may have reasonable objections, a cell-phone ban would improve the safety of all drivers. In this case, individual actions can lead to disastrous consequences for others. All the reason to quash these distractions and crack down on such safety hazards.

Driving is difficult and requires acute awareness of one’s surroundings. We have all but taken for granted this daily activity as rudimentary and simple. But when texting and cell phone use enters the equation, tragedies can happen.