COMMENTARY | The Los Angeles Times reports that Tuesday the National Transportation Safety Board voted unanimously to recommend that states ban the use of cell phones and other electronic devices by drivers unless an emergency is present. A recent survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that half of all drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 have indeed texted or emailed while being behind the wheel of an automobile. As a 24-year-old female driver, here is how I personally feel about this latest suggested ban.
I am not a supporter of a ban similar to the one that the NTSB has proposed, especially considering that this would be a ban in all states. I firmly believe that a ban on communication devices or electronics should be left to each state to decide what is considered legal and illegal. A ban on cell phones or electronics is a state issue, and should not be decided by the federal government, because it is not the job of the government to ban such products from all drivers.
I also am not a supporter of the cell phone or electronics ban because this is something that cannot be enforced. I would really like to know how such a ban could be enforced on any level, including nationwide. Unless a driver is beside a police cruiser and the cop looks over and sees a driver on the phone, there is no way that this ban could ever be enforced. The only way this could be enforced is through random stops by the police. It is not so much that I do not think texting or emailing should be illegal while driving, I just know through common sense that this could never be enforced equally across the board. I would change the ban to allow hands-free communications, but I still do not see how a cop could enforce someone violating that rule.
If someone violated such a ban if it went through, I do not think there is any penalty that would stop someone from doing it again. If a cop gives a driver a ticket, that is not going to stop the driver from doing it again, and serves no real purpose in the name of safety. I have personally almost been in a crash because I was texting while driving, but I would have only run off of the road, and not harmed anyone else in the process, but that does not make it right. Knowing how close I was to an accident did not change my views on texting or emailing, and I do not think any penalty would have stopped me after that.
Myself, Personal Opinion
Associated Press, "NTSB recommends ban on driver cell phone use", Los Angeles Times
National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, "National Phone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors", NHSTA
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