The Great Cell Phone Debate

My friend’s 16 year-old daughter recently got her driver’s permit. In New Jersey a 16 year-old is allowed to obtain their permit after completing a behind-the-wheel driving course and successfully passing a written examination. After reaching their 17th birthday, teen drivers may obtain a provisional license – a license that comes with a myriad of restrictions - which they must hold for at least one year after which, an unrestricted license is issued.

As my friend and I were discussing her daughter’s newly obtained permit, she mentioned that she is not concerned about her daughter’s driving skills – she is a confident yet cautious driver – but she is concerned about her becoming distracted by her cell phone while behind the wheel. Conceding that her daughter’s cell phone is her “lifeline” to friends, she knows that there will be the ever present temptation to use the phone while driving. When I suggested that she buy her daughter a good hands-free devise – after all, New Jersey is a “hands-free” state, meaning that drivers are only permitted to use a cell phone if it is connected to a hands-free device - my friend told me that on the teenager coolness barometer, wearing a hands-free device ranks right somewhere between still having to take the bus even after getting their license and carrying an umbrella on a rainy day.

“But, it’s the law,” I countered.

I was sorry I said it. This seemingly simple – and obvious - statement only caused my friend to launch into a tirade about the scores of far more dangerous activities – eating, reading a newspaper, applying make-up, and shaving – that people do while driving. “Until they make those illegal,” she said, “I don’t see why talking on a cell phone should be treated any differently.”

What are the Laws?

This conversation prompted me to think about how states deal with the cell phone issue in general and as it relates to teen drivers in particular.

My first stop was the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles web site. Here I learned that not only is it illegal for drivers to talk on a cell phone that is not connected to a hands-free device, drivers holding a provisional license are prohibited from using their cell phones entirely. I wonder if my friend – or her daughter – knows this.

I also found that New Jersey is not alone. Currently New York, Connecticut, California and the District of Columbia also prohibit drivers from using cell phones that are not connected to a hands-free device and many other states are contemplating similar legislation. Further, according to information provided in a 2005 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least eight states (Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and Texas) prohibit new drivers – the definition of “new” varies by state – from using cell phones while behind the wheel.

But back to my friend’s point. If there are other things that drivers are doing that are equally – or more – dangerous, why are the lawmakers picking on the cell phone users? One answer may be found in a study conducted last year by the University of Utah. The results, a summary of which can be read here, suggests that a teen that drives while using a cell phone has a reaction time that is roughly equivalent to that of a 70 year-old driver who is not talking on a cell phone.

Why a Ban?

It is important to note the distinction that exists between an outright cell phone ban and a restriction on only using a phone that is equipped with a hands-free device. The ban that exists in the states referenced above prevents teens from using their phones while behind the wheel and was designed in part to prevent teens from using the popular text-messaging capabilities that many of today’s cell phones come equipped with, a distraction that is arguably even more distracting.

In any case, it is clear that a new driver’s primary focus should be to gain confidence and expertise in their driving skills; laws such as those that have already been enacted in states like New Jersey and Texas will certainly go a long way toward helping achieve this goal. We can only hope that other states will follow suit.

A Final Word

On a related note, there are currently 8 states – Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Tennessee – that prohibit school bus drivers from engaging in cell phone conversations while operating their bus. This law seems to make sense; as anyone who has spent any amount of time can tell you – there are more than enough distractions on a typical school bus already – adding a cell phone to the mix can only make things worse.

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