No cell phones while driving!

 

Returning to boarding school in Switzerland after a much needed break, I was eager to meet up with all my friends again. I expected them to rush out and embrace me with laughter and cheer. But, what I experienced was the complete opposite. It was evident in their grim expressions and blood shot eyes that they had been crying. Finally, when someone told me what happened, emotions flared up inside me. I was told that a close friend of mine had been a victim of a fatal car accident. He was reported to have been driving in the middle of night while talking to his father on the cell phone informing him that he would be home in just a while and at the same time his car collided with a truck coming in the opposite direction. Awakened by this incident, his father petitioned to pass a law in his home country that prohibited the use of cell phones while on the road. This incident made me realize how harmful the effects of cell phones can be on anyone and not just teenagers.

This bar graph demonstrates the  different distractions that can cause a driver to miss a signal

As of January 2006, twenty states in the United States passed a law that prohibited the use of cell phones while driving. But there was a twist to this new law. The new requirement concerned only a certain group of the society. It took into the account the minimum age of 18 at which cell phones are permitted while driving without a law breaking offense. The law has been enforced strictly as many agree that distractions cause the greatest number of highway crashes among teenagers. This statement is supported by the graph  as well, which portrays that the use of cell phones while driving has caused the greatest number of highly fatal accidents among juveniles. The law permits citizens over the age 18 to use cell phones while driving but with a hand-free device hooked onto their car. As a follow up, many adults in the society concur that since underage members of the society are still new to driving and would have just recently exposed to the possible dangers of the road, distractions like cell phones would prove to be too overwhelming, since full concentration would be required on the road. Secondly, it is evident in today’s technologically innovative world that teenagers tend to be engrossed and fully distracted by the effect of rapidly growing technology.  Therefore, it could potentially cause great harm and disaster if cell phones were to be used while driving especially by the younger members of the society. 

 

The law assumes that the people, who are not affected by this law due to their age are used to driving, have more control over their distractions and are mature enough to make decisions quickly. “The simple fact is that teenage drivers are more easily distracted. They are young, inexperienced and have a slower reaction time,” was a statement that Schwarzenegger made as he signed the legislation. “We want to eliminate any extra distractions so they can focus on paying attention to the road and being good drivers.” Therefore, the high majority of people do agree that cell phones indeed have a dire consequence in the lives of the juveniles and the people around them, and therefore this law acts in order to protect the lives of the underage members of society until they reach a mature age at which they are capable of driving after having been on the road for a considerable period of time.

This law clearly defines the person under law. People who have reached the age of 18 and over are considered the responsible, mature and road conscious members of society and are therefore viewed as a person under law. Therefore, the law differentiates the society into two groups with one group attaining the profile of becoming a person under law as he experiences freedom and is not restricted from using cell phones while driving. 

References: 

1.Means, By All. "California Hands-free Cell Phone Driving Law Effective July 1, 2008." Bluetooth Headset Reviews and Wireless News from Gammoth. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://blog.gammoth.com/news/california-get-ready-hands-free-cell-phone-law-effective-july-1-2008>.