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Distracted Driving Is Dangerous Driving
National Transportation Safety Board this week released a report recommending a complete and total ban on the use of cell phones while driving. The ban would include wired, wireless, hands-free devices and texting devices, but would not include the use of such devices by passengers in an automobile. According to the most recent estimates by the National Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 14 million drivers use hand-held phones, which they consider distracted driving. They also estimate that more than 3,000 deaths last year were directly caused by distracted driving.
This emphasis on distracted drivers is a direct result of the completion of a 10-study of driving habits conducted by the NTSB. The findings showed a direct connection between distracted driving and crashes, which prompted the recent suggested ban.
Drivers who completed an online traffic school understand the dangers of distracted driving so this should come as no surprise to them. Driving requires your full attention, both on the road ahead of you and the areas all around your vehicle. If your attention is drawn away, whether its toward a cell phone, the radio or even a GPS device, the opportunity is there for you to have a crash. It takes less than a second for someone to step off the sidewalk in front of you; the car ahead of you to brake suddenly, or you to find yourself in the midst of an emergency situation. Anything which draws your attention away from the hazards of driving, is itself a hazard.
At the moment, the use of cell phones by drivers vary from state to state. In 35 states it against the law to text message while driving. Another 30 states ban cell-phone use by novice drivers, and 10 ban all use of hand-held cell phones while driving. If the NTSB has its way this will be the case in all fifty states.
It seems likely that some nationwide rule governing the use of hand-held devices by drivers will be enacted, especially when you consider the strength of the NTSB in past actions. For anyone who has successfully completed traffic school online course this will hardly come as a shock because they already know just how dangerous it is to let anything come between them and their focus behind the wheel.
