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Hello CellCoach,
I am in 7th grade GATE at Doolen MS, and I wrote this article in my language arts class:
Are you aware of the monster that causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries every year? At first glance, this thing doesn’t appear dangerous, but when you peer further, it becomes a colossal problem. The monster is: cellular driving. Cellular driving is the act of precariously driving while talking on your cell phone. Cellular driving is bad because it causes more accidents, raises insurance rates, and causes everyone around the cellular driver to get irritated.
As I said before, cellular driving is the origin of 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries every year in the U.S. alone. Although these numbers may be hard to comprehend, it is only about 400 less people than 9/11, EVERY YEAR! Cellular driving also causes an 18% slower reaction time to brake lights, which leads to more accidents that could have been avoided. If everyone in the U.S. stopped cellular driving, then 6% of all auto accidents in our country would disappear. That’s a whopping 377,340 accidents that would never happen. Tell me that preventing accidents isn’t a good thing!
Imagine a guy at a party, Fred. Fred drinks five beers, and then gets in his car to drive home. Meanwhile, Ann, a realtor, finishes work and walks to the parking garage. As she is getting into her luxury sedan, her cell phone rings: it’s one of her clients. She answers the phone and continues to put her things in the car, then drives home. Ann talks all the way home. Incredibly, Fred and Ann have the same chance of getting in an accident. If Fred gets stopped speeding, he will most likely get a DUI (Driving Under the Influence), but if Ann gets stopped, odds are that she will simply get a speeding ticket and continue on her way. Is this fair? No! Ann was just as much of a danger as Fred was. In fact, studies have shown that if someone is cellular driving their reaction time and their awareness is equal to that of someone with a 0.8% blood alcohol content!
Even if an accident isn’t caused, other drivers can be irritated. While cellular driving, you have a 17% slower reaction time to green lights. Furthermore, when “chatting” on your cell phone, the average driver stays 12% further behind the motorist in front of them. This number alone is good, but it certainly shows that cellular driving dulls your senses.
Some people think that if they have a hands-free bluetooth device then it doesn’t have the same effects. They are wrong. It doesn’t matter if you are using a regular cell phone or a bluetooth; you still are a danger to other drivers.
The penalties for cellular driving are controversial. Some people think that, because it is as dangerous as drunk driving, it should have the same penalties as drunk driving. Others think that, though cellular driving is dangerous, if it is an emergency and you need to reach someone, you should be able to do so without paying a substantial fine and/or going to jail. Personally I agree with those that think that there should be penalties but not as severe as a DUI.
The penalties that I have come up with go like this. If you get caught cellular driving you pay a $150 ticket. If you caught again within 6 months, then you pay $300. If you get caught a third time you are eligible to go to jail for up to one week, you pay a fine of $500, and you are unable to have cell phone service for 1 month.
You may think that these penalties are harsh, but cellular driving is a danger to our community and something needs to be done about it. People really don’t realize how dangerous driving and talking is, how many accidents it causes, how many deaths it causes! If those of us that do know don’t do something about it, than nothing will ever happen.
-Zac B.
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