Prohibit Cell Phone Use: A Good Idea or Not?

Carrie Egging
6/29/2007
Comp II
Prohibit Cell Phone Use: A Good Idea or Not?

Cell phones can be very advantageous to everyone who owns one. Cell phones allow a person to be able to call home and tell their loved ones that they are on their way and not to worry, or they allow for someone to be able to call for help during an emergency. I would have to agree with Robert Hahn and Paul Tetlock that it would not be extremely reasonable to ban cell phone use. However I do feel that the way people use their cell phones needs to be considered when discussing whether cell phone use is appropriate or not. The two essays we were giving to analyze both have very separate ideas about the appropriateness of cell phones usage while driving, but they don’t give very good evidence to back up their arguments.

The advocates for cell phone safety begin their essay with a quote stating, “There isn’t enough evidence to prove that using a cell phone while driving causes accidents.” (Advocates 542) Later in the essay they claim that cell phones are the cause of 450 to 1,000 fatalities in a year. How can they make this claim when they just stated that there is no evidence to cell phones being related to accidents? Also, they don’t give a source for these numbers they came up with.

The advocates for cell phone safety also stated that after Japan banned cell phones, the accidents associated with cell phones dropped by 70%. (542) Once again they did not state where they received this information or why someone should believe that this was due to banning cell phones. It could have been that that month that they tested had fewer accidents in it anyway.

Similarly, Hahn and Tetlock’s first paragraph seems to be giving reasons for prohibiting cell phone use while driving, but they are actually in support of not banning cell phones. I feel however that Hahn and Tetlock have a good argument about how cell phone usage is not any different then “tuning the radio, drinking double lattes, or refereeing the sibling wars in the back seat.” (Hahn 544) All these things increase the risk while driving but they are still allowed.

I also agree with Hahn and Tetlock’s last paragraph. Until there has been specific research done to test the danger of cell phone use while driving, let drivers use cell phones at their own judgment. Common sense says that cell phones can be distracting, let a person have enough common sense to know whether they are capable of using a cell phone while driving and whether the conditions are suitable for cell phone use. However I do think that hands free communication in the car would be very acceptable and much safer, but once again it should be up to the individual driving, for the time being.