Cell+Phone+while+Driving

** Project Distracted Drivers: The Truth behind the Wheel. **
There are so many reasons to car accidents today. Whether it is truly an accident, or someone's fault because of a poor choice, crashes are inevitable. But some are not. We can make a difference, and here's how.


 * Proposal**

** There needs to be a ban on the use of cell phones and all hand held electronic items while people are in the car. They are distracting and the leading cause of accidents in the U.S. ** House Bill is being voted on January 26, 2010.


 * Action Plan**

Write a letter to the senate if bill is passed in the house to make aware of how concerned we are and how important the topic is to drivers in PA. If not passed in the house we will rally behind it and try to get a re-vote and back into congress room discussions. Lastly, if the bill is passed we have completed the project to its highest level of success!!


 * Alternate Solutions**

Pros---People will have to obey the law, less accidents will occur, better for the general welfare, people will feel safer on the roads, drivers won't be distracted. Cons---Time consuming to get the bill passed, just another law someone could break.
 * Solution 1**: Get the Bill Passed

Pros---Make drivers paranoid about the topic with facts so they will think twice before driving while using there cellphone Cons---No possible fine in place so some drivers will not follow because they could not get caught and be forced to pay for their actions
 * Solution 2**: Raise awareness through propaganda or word of mouth


 * FACTS and RESEARCH**
 * Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25% of car accidents.
 * One-fifth of experienced adult drivers in the United States send text messages while driving.
 * A study of dangerous driver behavior released in January 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. found that of 1,200 surveyed drivers, 73 percent talk on cell phones while driving.
 * The same 2007 survey found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.
 * In 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that ten percent of drivers are on handheld or hands free cell phones at any given hour of the day.
 * A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Motorists found that motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
 * In 2002, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis calculated that 2,600 people die each year as a result of using cellphones while driving. They estimated that another 330,000 are injured.
 * According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, drivers talking on cell phones are 18 percent slower to react to brake lights. They also take 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.
 * An estimated 44 percent of American drivers now have cell phones in their automobiles.
 * Of cell phone users that were surveyed, 85 percent said they use their phones occasionally when driving, 30 percent use their phones while driving on the highway, and 27 percent use them during half or more of the trips they take.
 * 84 percent of cell phone users stated that they believe using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of being in an accident.
 * The majority of Americans believe that talking on the phone and texting are two of the most dangerous behaviors that occur behind the wheel. Still, as many as 81% of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving.
 * The number of crashes and near-crashes linked to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.
 * Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
 * Of all cell phone related tasks - including talking, dialing, or reaching for the phone - texting while driving is the most dangerous.
 * Teen drivers are four times more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near crash events directly related to talking on a cell phone or texting.
 * A car driver dialing a cell phone is 2.8 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-distracted driver.
 * A driver reaching for a cell phone or any other electronic device is 1.4 times more likely to experience a car crash.
 * A car driver talking on their phone is 1.3 times more likely to get into an accident.
 * A truck driver texting while driving is 23.2 times more likely to get into an accident than a trucker paying full attention to the road.
 * A truck driver dialing a cell is 5.9 times more likely to crash.
 * A trucker reaching for a phone or other device is 6.7 times more likely to experience a truck accident.
 * For every 6 seconds of drive time, a driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their eyes off the road. This makes texting the most distracting of all cell phone related tasks.
 * In Pennsylvania, there were 1,298 cell phone related accidents in 2008. Of those accidents, 9 resulted in death.
 * In 2007, 1,093 cell phone related car crashes occurred in Pennsylvania. Of those crashes, 6 were fatal.
 * From 2003 to 2006, car accidents from cell phone use lead to 50 deaths across the state of Pennsylvania.
 * Cell phone-related car accidents shot up 43 percent in western Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2006.
 * In 2006, cell phones caused 241 car accidents in western PA.
 * According to PennDOT, from 2002 to 2006 there were 5,715 car accidents linked to the use of handheld cell phones in PA.
 * PennDOT also reports 367 accidents in the same time period involving hands free cell phones or Bluetooth communication devices.
 * In 2004 alone, handheld cell phone use contributed to over 1,170 Pennsylvania car crashes.
 * Accidents involving talking or texting on a cell phone rose from 168 in 2003 to 228 in 2005 in the Western Pennsylvania region. That’s a 36 percent increase in over two years.


 * Websites to find information**

PA Bill info: @http://handsfreeinfo.com/pennsylvania-cell-phone-laws-legislation Cell Phone ban info:[] Google Document: [|https://docs.google.com/a/hershey.k12.pa.us/Docdocid=0Ae1iN1zjwIuKZGRuejVtdndfNzRjc3M2Ym5mMg&hl=en] Cell Phone ban Chart: [|www.google.com/search%3Fhl%3Den%26source%3Dhp%26q%3Dcell+phones+and+driving+statistics%26aq%3Df%26oq%3D%26aqi%3Dg3]">[][|www.google.com/search%3Fhl%3Den%26source%3Dhp%26q%3Dcell+phones+and+driving+statistics%26aq%3Df%26oq%3D%26aqi%3Dg3] PA safe driver site: [] PA Cell Phone Use In Cars Video CBS News:[]


 * Drinking and Driving**


 * Proposal**: The amount of drunk driving accidents is outragous, and 60% of the accidents that occur are due to drinking and driving. There needs to be a lowering of the blood alcohol content level in Pennsylvania and posibly a lowering of the drinking age.


 * Plan**: A bill will have to be passed stating the change in B.A.C level and the lowering of drinking age, people will have to obey the law and not abuse it also kids wont feel like they have to sneek the drink so they wont get fully intoxicated.
 * Consequences**: people could disobey the law and always drink more and there would be more people drinking so there may be more accidents if the kids are foolish.


 * Plan 2**: A bill will be passed proposing that you need to breathalize a person before they leave to check for alcohol in there breath and if they are intoxicated have them wait for awhile before they can start driving.
 * Consequences**: People could refuse to be breathalized and get angry and cause a fight.


 * RESEARCH!**


 * Drunk driving affects thousands of people a year.
 * check points have been proven effective to prevent accidents with drunk drivers.
 * 39% of deaths in accidents are because of alcohol.
 * In one year 17,590 people died from drinking and driving accidents in 2007
 * About 13,582 people are over the B.A.C by .08%
 * Average B.A.C for fatal crashes is .16%
 * All breathalizers can detect any alcoholic drink and there B.A.C level.
 * Eating food or something with substance while you drink slows down the proccess of alcohol being absorbed.
 * In 1986 60% of deaths on roads were caused by drunk driving.
 * Some states in the U.S hav a B.A.C level of .08% at the max and people are trying to get all states to change to .08%
 * Alcohol is the most popular beverage in the U.S more popular than milk and coffee.
 * Countries like Italy have a lower B.A.C level then the U.S at a low level of .05%.
 * People in Italy can drink at the age of 16.
 * Teens dont feel they have to sneek alcohol because they are being able to drink it at a younger age and they are being introduced to it at a younger age.
 * current changes in the drinking age have led to more alcohol related deaths than when the age to drink was lower.
 * If at the age of 18 you are concidered an adult, can drive a car, buy cigarettes, get body piercings and tattoos, and even go off to war and risk your life you should be able to drink.
 * You are also aloud to get married at 18 and you wouldnt be able to drink at your wedding.
 * Letting kids drink at 18 would lower the risk of fatal accidents because kids wouldnt get overly intoxicated because they know that they could drink again so they would have only a drink or two and be a responsible driver.

//Issues & Controversies On File:////Issues & Controversies//[]
 * Bibliography's**

//Issues & Controversies On File:////Issues & Controversies//[]

"15 Reasons Why Drinking Age should be 18." Web log post. //Cognac//. 6 Mar. 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2010. .