The new intoxication...the cell phone?

LINDSAY EMMITE/Riverside (click to enlarge)

By Anna Majestro
Charleston Catholic High School

While there are many things that can cause drivers to be distracted, cell phones seem to be at the top of the list. Effective this past summer, West Virginia teenagers are not allowed to use cell phones while driving, though adults are.

Are teenagers so irresponsible that they can not be trusted to drive and talk? Or is this law just to give teens time to gain driving experience?

“It’s not that teenagers are bad drivers. They are just inexperienced,” said Charleston Catholic teacher Pamela Pulliam. “If you look at the number of hours teenagers have driven compared with the amount of hours adults have, adults just have had more driving time.”

Pulliam, a physical science teacher, has put road safety, which teaches the physics of driving, on her class agenda for the past few years. She agrees with the law that teens should not be allowed to use cell phones while driving, but she doesn’t see any reason why adults shouldn’t be able to use them — as long as certain precautions are taken.

“I think that adults should be able to talk on the phone while driving if they are using a hands-free device,” she said.

Charleston Catholic sophomore Mary Zekan agrees with Pulliam, at least in part.

“I think it’s unfair that adults can [use cell phones] but teens can’t,” she said. “I don’t think anyone should be allowed to use them unless they have a hands-free device.”

Sophomore Julia Miller disagreed. She thinks everyone should be banned from using cell phones while driving.

“I don’t think adults should be allowed to use cell phones while driving because some adults’ driving is scary enough without cell phones. With the cell phones, it is terrifying! I fear for my life!”

It may sound like Miller is exaggerating, but driving while talking on a cell phone can be just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.

A University of Utah study published in June revealed that using a cell phone while driving impairs a person just as much as if he or she were driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08, which is considered the minimum level for drunk driving in West Virginia and most other states.

Would you ride with someone who was driving drunk? You are doing basically the same thing when riding with someone who is talking on the phone. This problem needs to be addressed before any more accidents are caused.