Cellphone Safety Education
Education is always a powerful tool that can help us in any endeavor. This is also critical in improving driving skills. This is the reason why driving lessons are an important requirement for people wanting to secure a driver’s license. A well-informed driver follows traffic rules and regulations, carries a huge responsibility and has self-discipline. A driver’s self-control, however, has continually been tested by numerous distractions in our society including the increasing use of cellphones while driving.
A psychologist from the Johns Hopkins University has said that the brain cannot handle two tasks at one time. Dr. Steven Yantis was studying the visual task and the auditory task of listening which can be applied to the real problems of drivers talking to a cellphone. His study, published in the 2005 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, further supports earlier research that driving and cellphone talking don’t mix as they can impair driving performance. Dr. Yantis explained that directing attention to listening effectively lessens the input to the visual parts of the brain.
Drivers should understand that the risk of getting into a vehicular accident is four times higher when they are on the phone. A 2005 study of Australian drivers using handheld and hands-free mobile phones while driving found that the risk was the same for both male and female drivers and for those older and younger than 30. The study entitled “Role of Cellular Phones in Motor Vehicle Crashes Resulting in Hospital Attendance” and conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety was published in the British Medical Journal. It further revealed that both handheld and hands-free types of mobile phones caused increased crash risk.
Information on vehicle safety and accident prevention are provided by various branches of the U.S. government such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). You can also gather lots of news and information on the internet for more convenience.
It’s great to know that most people now know the dangers of using mobile phones while driving. A 2006 study of the University of Michigan showed that most people advocate a state law making the use of cellphone while driving illegal. State governments were urged by 65 percent of the respondents to pass laws banning driving and cellphone use while only 29 percent did not want such law. Also, 88 percent said that police officers should note if a driver’s cellphone use was a factor when accidents happen.