Many people, students in particular, are bemoaning the idea of a ban on cell phones while driving. I say, it's about time.
I can't begin to tell you how many times I've come to a crosswalk on my way to or from school and nearly have been run over. I do everything correctly: I push the button for the blinking light, look around to make sure there are no vehicles too close to stop, then proceed.
Inevitably, though, I end up doing a little number I like to call "the crosswalk two-step."
As the vehicle that refuses to stop thunders by and I get a good look at the jerk who is driving it, I nearly always see one of two things: a phone glued to the person's ear, or a phone perched on top of their steering wheel, thumbs working furiously as they text nonsense to the recipient.
I understand that cell phones come in handy - I have one, myself - but unless there is a life-or-death emergency, I do not use my phone while I am driving. Whatever it is they are calling me for, it can wait five minutes until I reach a parking spot. That's why they invented voicemail.
I have used my phone once or twice while driving, and I quickly decided never to do so again because it's distracting. I noticed when I was driving I was less aware of my environment if I had a phone in my face. I know many people who talk on the phone while driving, and I have a friend who insists on texting me when he drives, and it scares me.
Studies have shown that simply talking on a phone while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk. There's even an episode of "Mythbusters" that illustrates this very well.
For those of you who already drive while drinking, or just don't care, I know what will change your mind: You are going to kill somebody.
Think about this for a minute.
How many times do you see students walking who do not pay attention to the drivers on the road? How many times have you had to screech to a halt because somebody walked out in front of you - probably talking on a cell phone - and you thought to yourself, "Geez, I almost hit that moron."
Now think about the number of times you've crossed a road and assumed because the driver of the oncoming car was pretty far away, they would stop or at least slow down for you. If they're using a cell phone or, God forbid, texting, they might not.
For those of you who are arrogant enough to assume that if you do get hit while crossing the road because of a distracted driver, you can just sue them, you might want to take a closer look at road kill. It's hard to sue somebody if your spleen is smeared all over the road, and I doubt your parents will have any consolation over any money they might win in a lawsuit to help pay for your funeral.
Yes, please ban cell phones, City of Manhattan. Just make sure the cops follow the rules as well. I've seen them texting while driving, too.
- Karen Ingram is a sophomore in English. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.
