Geissinger 1
Vicki Villone
English 102
3 September 2016
The Dangers of Texting and Driving
I chose this topic because it is one that I believe is rather prominent in today’s
culture. Cellphones are something that practically everyone has, and whether you know it
or not, play a major role in our lives. When a cell-phone goes off in a classroom or at a
concert, we are irritated. When we are on the road, however, irresponsible cell phone
users can be more than irritating. Many of us have witnessed drivers so distracted by
dialing and chatting that they resemble drunk drivers, weaving, and nearly running down
pedestrians on crosswalks. A number of bills towards regulating use of cell phones on the
road have been introduced to state legislatures, but are they really necessary. Some
groups think that regulation is needed because the use of phones while driving seriously
impair they driving capabilities. They say that our current laws we have on negligent and
reckless driving are not sufficient to punish offenders. On the other hand, some groups
think it is unnecessary to pass laws regulating the use of cell phones while driving. I have
heard this discussion argued for both sides before and have, until now, been and
undecided bystander as to which side, if either, I agree with. It is for this reason that I
decided to further research this topic, and the connecting laws.
No one can deny that cell phones have caused traffic deaths and injuries, the
question is are they sufficient enough to be a problem. While researching the hacc
databases I found that Cell phones were implicated in three fatal accidents in November
Geissinger 2
of 1999 alone. Early in November, two-year-old Morgan Pena was killed by a driver
distracted by his cell phone. Morgan’s mother, Patti Pena, reports that the driver “ran a
stop sign at 45 mph, broadsided my vehicle and killed Morgan as she sat in her car seat
(Sundeen).” A week later, corrections officer Shannon Smith, who was guarding
prisoners by the side of the road, was killed by a woman distracted by a phone call
(Besthoff).
On Thanksgiving weekend, that same month, John and Carole Hall were killed
when a Naval Academy midshipman crashed into their parked car. The driver said in
court that when he looked up from the cell phone he was dialing, he was three feet from
the car and had no time to stop (Stockwell).
