Blog #3: Distracted Driving/Hands Free Law

Local

        Each year a huge number of people die due to phone-related car accidents. Roughly 4,000-5,000 (Djurkovic) people die per year in the US and I believe that this number can be heavily reduced if a hands-free law is enforced in every state. Not only should this law be in the United States, I think it should be implemented on a more global scale. Such as countries in Europe or other regions like the Middle East. 
        To take things back to a more local scale, recently a law banning cellphones while driving in the state of Massachusetts has been passed. (Reiss) The only exception of cell phone use by utilizing a hands-free Bluetooth or wireless device. However, you have to have the hand's free device set up ahead of the time. With the law, drivers cannot read text messages or view images or videos. The only exception I'm assuming is if the driver is looking at some sort of navigation. But the mobile device would have to be mounted on a safe location such as the windshield. The only questions I have are what happens when an emergency or urgent situation takes place? What if someone has a medical issue? And how does this law apply to motorcyclists?
        I'm very glad that this law was passed and I think it should be applied to all 50 states. I completely agree with this new law and I believe it's going to lessen the total number of fatal crashes and ultimately make the roads a safer place.

Image By Salsberg

 

Global 

       Many countries today are very strict when it comes to texting and driving. Some countries haven't established laws like the U.S. States but, yet they fine the driver money if caught in action. These fine's aren't small either, they're substantially large. "In Oman, drivers caught using a handheld device can face up to 10 days in jail. They also face a maximum fine of 300 OMR, about $780." (Wallace) Those are some of the biggest consequences out of many countries to this day. I think that many people would most definitely follow these rules, especially because of jail time. I think more substantial consequences like this results in the driver to obey the law more often. 
        Omar isn't the only country with heavy fines like such. "Other countries with relatively high fines for first-time offenses include Bermuda ($500), Trinidad and Tobago (about $225), Qatar (about $137) and the Philippines ($100)." (Wallace) I believe that the higher the fine is, the more likely the driver will not use their cellphone while driving. This helps the ultimate goal of decreasing the number of fatal car accidents that result in deadly injuries and death. 

Mobile Phones and Driving Safety

        In the CNN article, Maureen Vogel, spokeswoman for the National Safety Council said: " Every time you see somebody using a telephone behind the wheel whether that's texting or talking, you need to be able to pull them over right away and ticket them for it." (Wallace) I completely agree with what Maureen Vogel stated. No matter what, if an officer on duty sees a driver operating a cell phone they should be instantly pulled over. No excuses can be made especially because people's lives are in danger if the driver is distracted. I believe just what Maureen said, the officer should not just let the driver off with a warning, they should get ticketed. This being said, if the driver does get ticketed, they will learn from their mistakes and they'll most likely never drive using their phone again. 

Works Cited

Djurkovic, Nikola. "24 Shocking Texting and Driving Statistics ." Carsurance, 10
     Nov. 2019, carsurance.net/blog/texting-and-driving-statistics/. Accessed 6
     Dec. 2019.

"Mobile Phones and Driving Safety." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 8 Dec.
     2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safety. Accessed 9
     Dec. 2019.

Reiss, Jaclyn. "How the New Law Banning Cellphone Use While Driving in
     Massachusetts Affects You." Boston Globe [Boston], 27 Nov. 2019. Boston
     Globe, www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/11/25/
     how-new-law-banning-cell-phone-use-while-driving-affects-you/
     YnzoxBQ1FK0XZmMrd3FkwJ/story.html. Accessed 6 Dec. 2019.

Salsberg, Bob. "Mass House Passes Hands-Free Driving, Racial Profiling Bill."
     10 Turn to 10, 16 May 2019, turnto10.com/politics/
     mass-house-passes-hands-free-driving-racial-profiling-bill. Accessed 9 Dec.
     2019.

Wallace, Kelly. "Driving While Distracted: Which Countries Have Toughest Laws?"
     CNN Health, Cable News Network, 3 Apr. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/03/24/
     health/distracted-driving-laws-global-countries/index.html. Accessed 9 Dec.
     2019.