Is Using a Phone While Driving a Distraction or Not?

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Is Using a Phone While Driving a Distraction or Not?
Photo taken from: https://bottarolaw.com/helpful-resources/infographics/hands-free-vs-hand-held/
The infographic is a demonstration of how a cellphone can be a distraction to driving and it imperils the lives of those who do it. It does not matter if someone is in a hurry, have to make calls, and other reasons because the act itself will decrease the amount of concentration someone puts into driving. It is easy to just pick up the cellphone and start texting or make phone calls, especially because of a busy schedule, but safety should always come 1st. This act will endanger a person’s life and those around them. The people who are riding in the car with him or her should feel safe while traveling with the person. They can talk to the driver while on the trip to keep them from falling asleep, but never allow them to use their phone while driving when they are on a busy street. A lot of people think that it is okay to do this because using phones is part of the norm now, but there are still limits to it.
The 5 seconds that a person is not looking at his or her phone covers a lot of distance already and anything can happen. It takes a split second to crash into something or hit a person crossing the street because the driver did not see them due to cell phone use. This is not fair to other drivers on the road who are mindful of their safety, which is why everyone should cooperate. If an important phone call needs to be made, a person can always stop the car 1st and go to the side of the road to avoid being an inconvenience to other motorists. Following proper guidelines is crucial to any driver because the safety of their lives are being protected when these rules are being implemented.
The use of technology products such as mobile phones and cars have gained popularity over recent times. Particularly, smartphones have become addictive such that their users do not want to put them away when performing tasks including driving. On its own, driving is a task that requires maximum concentration of the driver to ensure safety. However, drivers are increasingly ignoring this requirement by engaging in either texting or making and receiving calls while driving. This is attributed to the need of responding to emergency calls, saving time while communicating and avoiding boredom while driving. Additionally, most of the people who engage in phoning while driving arrived at their destination without any harm. Although, this can be safe to some extent but it does not guarantee 100% safety of the persons involved. This is evidenced by the increased car crashes that have recently occurred over time. Using the phone while driving divides the attention of the drivers and distracts them from achieving high performance while driving. It also lowers their ability to make a proper judgment while driving and could result in accidents that could have otherwise been avoided. As such, the use of phone while driving should not be encouraged since it will overlap with the mind of the user. Accordingly, this paper proves that the use of phones while driving is a distraction.
Driving in itself is an activity which requires maximum concentration from an individual. However, there are situations where the driver is required to give about 60% concentration on driving. These cases involve driving on roads which are not busy and driving at night on roads which the user is very familiar with. With such clear roads, an individual may not be required to fully focus on the road. As such, they may be required to engage in other activities that would keep them busy and protect them from activities associated with boredom like sleep (Walsh et al. 6). Moreover, the ability to perform many tasks at once enables an individual to perform both primary and secondary priorities at the same time. This implies that an individual may drive as well as use their phone simultaneously. Such situations prove that phoning while driving is not a distraction as it would not have any impact on the performance of either task. This belief has been evidenced by research proving that most people have arrived at their destinations safely despite using phones (Mello & Shane, 22). Consequently, driving can be done alongside any other task such as texting and receiving calls without the driver being necessarily distracted.
On the other hand, there has been recent evidence of distracted driving attributed to the use of phones. According to the National Centre for Statistic and Analysis, about six people are killed on a daily basis and 1000 others injured due to phoning while driving. Such a situation would have been avoided if the victim, particularly the driver, refrained from using their phones while driving. Using mobile phones while driving increases one’s chances of being involved in a crash because their attention becomes divided and ultimately their performance level is lowered. A driver may use their phones for texting or making calls. While making calls, they can choose to place the phones on their ear or put the phone on loudspeaker. The latter option is better since it enables an individual to divide attention while allocating their driving part more attention. However, this may not be the case since the driver does not always decide where to concentrate their attention fully. Texting is worse than making or receiving calls since it combines three types of distraction (Nijboer et al. 4). Texting involves cognitive, manual and visual distractions. This implies that it can take away the driver’s attention from driving, take their hands off the wheel and their eyes off the road respectively. In turn, the driver ends up not being aware of the existing situation within his or her surroundings. Ultimately, phoning while driving has proved to be a distraction.
Developments in technology have made it easy for drivers to navigate through the road easily (Yoon, 2). As time goes by, manufacturers can design products that are suitable for their product market. This is because it is the consumers who dictate the developments in the products which they use. Accordingly, the current trend is that majority of the drivers use phones while driving. To address this trend, car manufacturers are using advancements in technology to develop vehicles which require the drivers to pay less attention to the road (Sielinou, 3). Once the driver has the option of paying little attention to the road while driving, they can use their phone without being at risk of an accident. As such, current innovations in the vehicle industry have made phoning while driving not to be considered a distraction. For instance; the adaptive cruise control in automated cars can automatically adjust the speed of the car using the radar. This speed is adjusted such that it matches the speed of the car ...