While driving down the freeway do you ever see a car in front of you that is swerving or speeding up and slowing down? Then you think to yourself, “I don’t want to follow behind or be in the lane right next to them.” So you speed up, and sure enough the driver is using their cell phone. Well, I am sure you have. Cell phone use while driving is not only frustrating for other drivers; it is very dangerous to all drivers who are on the road. When a driver is using a cell phone, it doesn’t matter what kind of person they are, or what their age is, or their gender. Accidents don’t show any sympathy. Driving while using a cell phone is dangerous and there should be laws that prohibit the use of cell phones while driving. These laws should be effective in every state, not just some states. This is a seriously dangerous issue because that driver is putting not only but their life at stake, but the lives of other drivers on the road at stake when cell phones are used. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in the U.S. that involved distracted driving (dd), of the 5,474 deaths, 995 of them involved reports of a cell phone being a factor, and 24,000 injuries were reported from cell phone related accidents (Cell Phone & Texting While Driving Statistics, 2010). This is a serious problem in our world today in the lifestyle we live, but the problem is solvable. All that needs to happen is for a few laws to be passed to refrain people from using cell phones. It should not be legal in any state to talk or text while driving. If laws were passed, there would be no question that it would make the roads much safer and the numbers would show it. Studies at Vanderbilt University have shown that the brain doesn’t process things fast enough to handle two things at once. So to those who think they can concentrate on driving while using a cell phone, you’re wrong. When we are driving, we get hammered with visual information. Research shows neurological evidence that the brain cannot effectively do two things at once. Even talking through a Bluetooth headset isn’t safe because they are still doing two cognitively demanding tasks at the same time. The science behind this fact is the central bottleneck idea, which prevents us from doing two things at once. The central bottleneck was caused by the inability of the lateral frontal, prefrontal cortex, and the superior frontal cortex, to process two tasks at once (Dux & Marois, 2007). Paul E. Dux explains that the neural response to the second task was postponed until the response to the first was completed. This means that when a driver pulls out a cell phone, their brain has engaged into another task besides driving. What it also means is that the cell phone has become the first, or primary task at hand and safely driving the vehicle has become the secondary task that is being postponed. It isn’t until the first task is completed, or when the phone call, text message, or email has been sent, that the primary task then returns to driving. Due to the fact that our brain doesn’t have the ability to multitask, driving really requires 100% of our attention. Our brains cannot process separate pieces of information efficiently because it is not designed to do two things at once. When talking on a cell phone the brain prioritizes attention to the cell phone and bounces back in between the conversation and the road. When talking into the cell phone, words are transmitted through the phone and the brain must pay close attention to capture the information of the conversation going on. As the driver is driving, the visual information does not change as fast as the audio information is changing. This causes the driver to ignore some of the visual information that is passing. Most of the time, the loss of the visual information goes without harm, but when a biker or pedestrian crosses the road the outcome can be tragic. Drivers think that they would be able to react quickly enough but they are completely wrong. When a situation changes in an instant the brain lacks the processing power to react in time to avoid a potentially fatal outcome (Breznitz, 2009). People may argue that the cell phone laws should not be passed everywhere because of the simple fact of emergencies. Things come up and it sometimes might be necessary to get a hold of the driver or needs to be informed of something that cannot be put off until the driver has stopped the vehicle. In these cases, I agree that people should be able to answer a phone even if it is while driving, but the only way that it should be allowed is a hands free wireless system must be used. Another law should be passed that the driver is not allowed to make phone calls while operating the vehicle; the driver can only answer calls. The only way a driver can answer a call is that the driver must have a Bluetooth system or a built in mobile device system that is completely user friendly. What I mean by user friendly is that the driver only needs to hit a button, or turn a dial to answer a call. Without the actions of pulling out a cell phone from a pocket or bag, it is not safe by any means, but it is much safer to press a single button, and not have to hold the device with a hand against his or her ear. These laws pertaining to a hands free system could be the solution to the majority of cell phone while driving related accidents. In 2008, the state of California passed a law that prohibited drivers of 18 years and older from using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle unless the driver uses a hands-free device, and drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using a cell phone whether it is hands free or not. The idea behind this law was to prevent people from being physically distracted while operating the vehicle, which makes sense, pulling out a cell phone and taking your hands off the wheel would cause the mind to take concentration off the road. An interesting study done at the end of 2010, two full years after the law was passed, showed that the hand-held cell phone ban hasn’t reduced the amount of crashes. The accident rate before and after the law took effect has not significantly changed. The study showed that there were slightly more than eight crashes per 100 vehicles 18 months before the law went into effect. Twelve months after the law, there were about 7.5 crashes per 100 vehicles. Studies done in Arizona and Nevada, where there is no law against cell phone use while driving, showed that there wasn’t a significant change in the percentage per 100 vehicles. (Institute, 2010). This study may raise questions wondering if cell phones were even a distraction? Yes they definitely are. The problem isn’t that driver’s eyes were being taken off the road. The problem is that the driver’s mind is being taken off the road. A driver’s eyes could be completely on the road and not be able to process visual information because the visual information is not what is being concentrated on. What is being concentrated on is the conversation. The conversation is putting images in driver’s minds, these are thoughts that are not allowing the concentration to be on the road, even though their eyes are looking at nothing but the space in front of them, and that is the problem. All the driver sees is space in front of them. While focused on speaking and interpreting the conversation, the driver cannot focus on detail or pay attention to the “space” out in front of them, and is driving in sort of a “dazed” state. We call this cognitive thinking. Cognitive thinking includes thoughts, reasoning, and everything that is related to decision-making and judgment of peoples actions, or while driving, what is being said on the phone. The reason why accidents occur due to cognitive thinking, and it happens all too much, is that driving errors occur when an illogical sequence of interpretation leads to an incorrect decision. The illogical sequence of interpretation is concentrating on the conversation instead of concentrating on driving (James, 2007). This cognitive behavior doesn’t change and will not ever change because of how our brain is designed to work. The driver can’t concentrate on both the conversation, and on the road. When the driver finds it necessary to concentrate on the road, a good decision is made and information from the conversation is usually lost. When the driver finds it necessary to concentrate on what person on the other line is saying, concentration on direction and detail on the road is usually lost. Cell phone use while driving is not only very dangerous for the driver, but is also very dangerous for all other drivers on the road. Not only is it dangerous but also it is frustrating for other drivers who are affected by a dazed driver. Cell phone while driving laws should take effect in all states and not just some. If the human brain isn’t designed to multitask, then humans should have no business trying to use a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle. Cell phone use while driving isn’t fair to the people who do take driving seriously, and realize how dangerous it really is. Not only do they put other drivers at risk, but all the passengers of vehicles at risk too. I’m not saying that drivers who use cell phones don’t take driving seriously, but essentially, using a cell phone while driving is saying that. The human life is too valuable to be put on the line by something as casual as a phone call. The studies have been shown and are there for people to realize how many accidents are related to cell phone use. The 2008 California driving statistics goes to show that no matter the form of communication while operating a vehicle is it a very dangerous task to carry a conversation and concentrate on the road ahead at the same time. All it takes to answer a phone call or answer a text is just a few seconds, and all it takes for an accident to occur is one second of lost concentration.

References
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Bertolucci, J. (2010, September 20). Cell phone-related driving deaths on the rise-govt.study. Retrieved from http://www.pcworld.com/article/205795/cell_phonerelated_driving_deaths_on_the_rise_govt_study.html

Staff, A. (2011, June 02). Car accident statistics. Retrieved from http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/statistics.html

Anderson, J. (2007, January 26). Neurology study: Brain too slow for cell phone use while driving. Retrieved from http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=1694

Staff, A. (2010, March 08). Understanding the distracted brain. Retrieved from http://www.fnal.gov/pub/traffic_safety/files/NSC White Paper - Distracted Driving 3-10.pdf

Breznitz, S. (2009, October 20). How the brain works: Driving, cell phones and cognitive ablilities. Retrieved from http://www.itworld.com/science/81699/how-brain-works-driving-cell-phones-and-cognitive-abilities

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Watts, J., & Herring, S. (2010, October 10). Cell phone related traffic fatalities continue to rise. Retrieved from http://www.birminghaminjuryblog.com/2010/10/cell_phone_related_car_fatalities_continue_to_rise.html