Drivers today are using cell phones more than ever. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that around 800,000 drivers use their cell phone every day (NHTSA, 2004). Cell phones are a huge distraction to drivers, as well as other drivers not on cell phones, because it draws the users’ attention from the road. Like changing a stereo, who would want to be distracted by averting their eyes towards their phone? Texting and the conversations that take place on the cell phone can cause accidents. Any use of cell phones should be prohibited due to the dangers cause to the driver, passengers, and others on the road.

The use of cell phones while driving is dangerous. Fatal accidents have and will continue to occur with cell phones. There are clearly enough distractions on the road that one must be cautious of, in order to handle an automobile safely. These are: other automobiles, pedestrians, animals, signage, and many others. The added weights that cell phones convey, in terms of usage and stimuli, are too much for any driver on the road. Cell phone stimuli create an unsafe environment for the driver and those around. From a January 2010 report from the National Safety Council, 28% of car crashes (1.6 million accidents) are caused by cell phone conversations and texting (III, 2010).

Cell phones can delay reaction times, especially those that are hand-held. Other cars and pedestrians become targets when one’s reflexes are undermined by the cell phone. Research demonstrates a reduction of brain activity by 37% (Nationwide, 2009). Thus, a driver’s ability to concentrate is severely undermined during a cell phone conversation or other distraction posed by the cell phone.  According to the NHTSA, 5,780 deaths and 515,000 personal injuries have been caused by driver distractions (III, 2010).

To give perspective on these numbers the number of alcohol-related accidents can be useful.  To put is shortly, there have been many more fatalities from alcohol-impaired drivers, as it will be shown.  The numbers from the NHTSA help put it into perspective.  It is important to mention that the qualification for these numbers is a driver with .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher.

The NHTSA reports staggering numbers.  An estimated 12,998 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2007 (NHTSA, 2007).  Again, with the previous blood alcohol concentration, this number involves at least one driver or a motorcycle operator with this qualification.

According to the numbers presented by the NHTSA, this means that alcohol-related driving fatalities consisted of 31.7% of total driving fatalities (NHTSA, 2007).  For the year of 2007 the NHTSA reports 41,059 fatalities related to driving (NHTSA, 2007).  As a point of reference to fatalities related to cell phones and driver distractions in general, alcohol-related driving fatalities are significant in number.

Here the relationship is able to be seen.  With the previous numbers of 5,780 fatalities for driver distractions, to which a portion is related to cell phone usage, and 12,998 fatalities related to alcohol, these two categories form a wide basis upon driving fatalities.  With the numbers relating to alcohol-impaired crashes at over double those that are distraction-related, alcohol forms a statistically more impactful degree for fatalities.  It is also important to keep in mind that cell phone usage is only a portion of driver distractions, thus alcohol is currently more statistically significant at the moment.

In regards to cell phone conversations, one with a passenger or by cell phone draws the attention of the driver away from the road to a degree. Additionally, the driver may not be able to hear important surrounding sounds while driving, such as sounds from emergency vehicles. Studies have been performed on the comparisons between the danger of cell phone use and normal conversations with a passenger while driving. While there is some literature that has documented the risk of passenger conversations while driving, there are studies that demonstrate the increased danger with cell phone use in comparison. A University of Utah (Drews, 2004) simulation confirms the increased risk of cell phone conversations to passenger conversations.  In these and other experiments, drivers are less distracted while talking to passengers than they are when speaking to someone on a cell phone.  This literature confirms the dangerous status of cell phone use while driving, as it is evident that cell phone conversations are more dangerous than those with a passenger.