Those who use cell phones while operating a motor vehicle are three times more likely to be involved in an accident than those who give their full attention to driving their vehicle according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Phone conversations have been shown to cause a cognitive distraction in drivers. In other words, the driver’s brain is intensely engaged with the conversation, although he may appear to be paying attention to the road.
Thus, if you choose to operate an auto and talk on the phone you are at significant increased risk of causing an accident and personal injury to others.
The report labels cell phone use as the most frequent behavior distracting drivers. “The number of crashes and near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening,” the report says. “Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.”
Most cell phone users who talk on the phone while driving have experiened a close call of one kind or another, yet rarely take proper precautions to ensure the safety of others on the roadways. At a minimum, drivers should use hands free technology when using a cell phone, however the more appropriate precaution would be to pull over to the side of the road out of harms way when making or receiving a cell phone call while operating a motor vehicle.
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