Does Voice activated Dialing Encourage Driving and Cell Phone Use?
Although voice activated dialing certainly has its uses beyond driving, it seems obvious that it encourages people to drive while using a cellular phone. A distracted driver is a dangerous driver, and many states have already made it illegal to talk on the phone or text while driving as of 2010.
Other states, while not making it illegal to talk on the phone while driving in most areas, have laws in place that prohibit cellular phone use in school zones. At this time, no states currently have hands free devices in all situations while driving.
In 2009, almost 5500 people died and half a million people were injured as the result of car accidents that involved a distracted driver. How on earth could someone pay their full attention to the fine art of driving, while using a phone for any purpose? Voice activated dialing is obviously an important feature for a visually impaired person to have, but many more people use it to endanger the lives of everyone else on the roads with them every day
Voice activated dialing is an important convenience to have in any number of situations, but it should be illegal to do so while driving, regardless of whether it is used in conjunction with a hands free device. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that fatalities related to distracted drivers made up 16% of all traffic fatalities in 2009. They also report that more adults than teens have reported texting while talking, so it’s obvious from whom our teenagers are learning their habits from.
It’s a sad fact of life that many drivers do not have the ability to self-govern their actions. Talking on a phone while driving is much more dangerous than adjusting the radio or CD, if only because it takes longer.
Related posts:
- Distracted Driving, Why You Shouldn’t Use Your Cell Phone While Driving
- Distracted Driving Cell Phone Victims Getting a Voice
- Virginia Study Reveals the Dangers of Texting While Driving: Pennsylvania Statistics Are Staggering
- “Death By Cell Phone” and Other Distracted Driving Terms Coined by the Anti-Text Messaging while Driving Movement
- Distracted Driving, The NPRM Calls for a Complete Cell Phone Use Ban
- Transportation Department Not Ready To Ban Hands-Free Driving Use
- Cell Phones, Text Messaging, and Car Accident Information for All Drivers
- Transportation to New York To Announce Attack Use of Cell Phones and Texting While Driving
- Distracted Driving Bills on the Front of the Arizona Capital
- Texting and Cell Phones While Driving: Why is talking on the phone so dangerous but talking to a passenger not?
Tags: apps, Cell Phones, distracted driving, Smartphones, texting, voice activated dialing