Not all teenagers are bad drivers. The majority of them, however, are worse than everyone else, and cellular phones should not be part of the long process of learning how to responsibly operate a vehicle.
State Rep. Matt Ramsey of Peachtree City will, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, introduce legislation into the General Assembly that would make it illegal for drivers under the age of 18 to use a cell phone while operating a vehicle, barring emergency calls.
If the planets are aligned and the bill actually passes, there would be no talking, no texting, no e-mailing and no instant messaging for the majority of high-school-aged students behind the wheel.
First time violators would face a fine of $175 and one penalty on their license. Second time violators would pay $500 and rack up two license points. Teens found to have been using a cell phone at the time of an accident will receive a 90-day license suspension. If found to be using the phone during an accident a second time, their license will be suspended six months.
Don’t take this personally, teens. We were you once. We dinged our parent’s car. We overcompensated to miss a hunk of tire in the road and ended up straddling grass and pavement. We put our car in third when we meant to put it in first. We did all that.
And, honestly, there are lots of adults who are still lousy drivers, which is why no one should be allowed to use a cell phone behind the wheel unless it is a hands-free device.
The problem is Americans are utterly and completely addicted to cell phones now, and legislation prohibiting adults from using traditional cell phones while driving most likely would not pass.
Rep. Ramsey’s bill is a step in the right direction, though.
What sense does it make that people are required by law to wear a seat belt while driving, though allowed to chatter on or even text about urgent matters like deciding where to eat after work or pinning down a dentist appointment––all the while endangering motorists around them through impaired awareness and slowed reaction time?
Study after study proves cell phones and driving don’t mix. The funny thing is everyone knows it’s a bad idea. We don’t need studies to tell us that. But people just can’t seem to stop themselves from being accessible 24 hours a day.
According to the CDC, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens ages 16-19 years old. One in three teen deaths is a result of vehicle accidents.
Now University of Utah researchers have even created the “Key2SafeDriving” for concerned parents, a device that houses a car key and is connected wirelessly to their teenager’s cell phone through Bluetooth or RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology.
Press a button on the device, and it sends a signal to the cell phone, releasing the key and sending the phone into “driving mode.” A big red stop sign appears on the cell phone screen, and all calls other than those made to 911 and other parent-pre-approved numbers are blocked.
These gab-jamming, bloviation frustration devices aren’t on the market yet, but University of Utah developers are hoping in six months they will be (at an expected cost of 50 bucks for the key, plus a monthly service fee).
True, the Key2SafeDriving may seem a tad overbearing (a lot overbearing if you are a teenager). But if Ramsey’s bill becomes law, parents maybe won’t have to go to that extreme. The law would actually go there for parents and maybe save a few of our hides in the process. |
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