Davis Law Group, P.S.

Should Every Distracted Driving Behavior Be Illegal?

Many states have banned cell phone use while driving, including Washington State. It is now a primary offense to e texting while driving, or to talk on the phone without a hand-held device. 

According to the National Transportation Safety Board more than 3,000 people lost their lives in distraction-related accidents.
However, I read an intriguing article recently, describing how cell phone usage has never been proven to cause accidents. Yes, cell phones may be distracting, but so can other features in the car or other distracting behavior.

Do cell phones actually cause accidents?

Of course, cell phone use can be a distraction. The author of this article points out many other driver distractions. He actually conducted many real world behavioral studies on drivers and he found a lot of questionable behavior. 

“I observed many drivers who were not wearing their seat belts; a few who seemed under the influence; several who were too focused on their Big Mac’s to pay attention to the road; a few who enjoyed their Marlboro’s a little too much; some who were listening to the radio volume so loudly that they could not have heard a fire-truck directly behind them; several turned around facing backwards as they drove forwards yelling at their children; one who was driving a car so improperly maintained it had to be restarted at every red-light; two women who were applying make-up so intently they almost hit the vehicle in front of them; several drivers who had one arm out the window; and one driver who had both arms out the window driving with one foot on the steering wheel and the other one on the gas pedal. And yes, there were several drivers who were so distracted by their cell-phones that they should not have been driving.”

I found this very interesting. Since phone usage has become strongly regulated, should every other distracting behavior also become illegal?

The other burning question is whether these laws have actually been effective. Many researchers are saying that it has become more dangerous because people are acting more irresponsibly to hide that they are on their phone.

Of course, cell phones can be distracting – but many other things can too. Should every distracting behavior become illegal?

I do not have the answer, but it is definitely a point to ponder.

Click here to read the original article No Evidence Using Cell Phones While Driving Causes Accidents.