Helium Article: Should cell phone use while driving be banned?

Ok, heres the article I'm currently ranked as the 8th of 279 Authors to write on this (2%). 1500 people have read the articles in this group.

There is a dividing line between rights and privileges. The United States Drivers Handbook clearly states the intentions of our elected officials that driving is a privilege reserved for those who use it responsibly. It is a simple matter to see that the use of a cell phone while driving does not comply with this precept. Therefore, it would rightly result in the loss of driving privileges.

What is responsible in a driver?
Simply, they must reasonably minimize the risk to there passengers and the other drivers on the road. To do this they need to be able to steer the vehicle, and not have there reactions impeded in any significant way.
The existing laws give us some idea of what should be considered reasonable. It is illegal for a person with impaired vision to drive without glasses. It is illegal for a person under the influence of alcohol to drive. It is illegal for a driver to move out of the drivers seat or in any other way remove themselves from driving. Most importantly it is already stated as illegal for a driver to drive in a dangerous manner.

What constitutes cell phone use?
To clarify what I include in "cell phone use while driving". Dialing, reading the screen, or holding the cell phone to your head while driving are the activities which I address in this article. Talking into a headset removes some of your attention from the road. However, it is a much hazier area to regulate, much in the league of talking to your passengers while driving, therefore I will not address it here.

So what is the argument against cell phone use?
Dialing a cell phone removes your hands from the steering wheel of the vehicle even if you can dial without looking. Holding a cell phone to your head impairs your ability to control your vehicle. Reading the screen of your cell phone is equivalent of temporarily blinding yourself. All of these activities are already illegal on all of the roads in the United States.

Conclusion.
Plain and simple, using a cell phone while driving is already illegal. No new laws need to be made. Courts should simply uphold tickets written for endangered driving based on cellphone use. Its willfully lessening your ability to drive, thats irresponsible, thats illegal, thats a misuse of a privilege.

Learn more about this author, Patrick Shechet.