Should It Be Legal to Use a Mobile Device while Driving?

As you are driving, you receive a text message from a friend. Is it safe to read the text message? Is it legal? Should you respond to it? A few minutes later, your sister calls. Do you answer the call? Millions of Americans acknowledge that they talk on their mobile phones while driving. Todays newer vehicles include sophisticated hands-free systems that use Bluetooth and other technologies to connect mobile devices to the vehicles sound system. The debate about mobile phone safety while driving elicits different points of view from vehicle insurance companies, consumer safety groups, and the telecommunications industry. In some states, it is illegal to send text messages while driving. Other states have outlawed the use of mobile phones or they require drivers to use hands-free devices while driving. Critics say that using a hands-free device gives people a false sense of security. Others claim that drivers can be just as easily distracted if they are discussing business or emotional matters. A recent study stated that talking on a phone while driving affects drivers response times as much as if they had consumed alcohol. One study reported that 62 percent of teenage drivers use mobile phones while driving, and 24 percent of them do not believe their phone use is a safety issue. One phone company created a mobile app that automatically responds to incoming text messages if the vehicle is traveling in excess of 25 mph, informing the message sender that you are driving and will respond later.

Do you think the government should be able to establish rules about mobile device usage while driving? Why or why not? Do you believe you are distracted if you talk on the phone while driving? Why or why not? Do you believe hands-free devices are safe? Why or why not?