Imagine a person driving while talking/texting on their cell phone in a school zone during the morning school rush. The person looks around and sees no police cars around, so he/she assume they are not going to get caught. While driving distracted, the person almost runs over a little girl who is crossing the street to get to school. The little girl isn’t hurt, but she does begin her school day shaken up. This is just one scenario of the many that can occur when a driver is distracted because of their mobile device. It is not uncommon to see people in real life do this, and it is happening in El Paso more than we might think.
The policy in El Paso on using a cell phone while driving states that when a person is convicted, he/she receives only a $500 fine (amarillo.com). But the ineffectiveness of this policy can be seen because of the many people that are still talking/texting on their cell phone while driving. Law makers in the city of El Paso have to look into revising the fine amount, making it up to $1000 or more if a person is caught being distracted on their mobile device. It is my belief that by increasing the fine amount, people will be discouraged of talking/texting on their cell phone because they will not want to pay the high price.
So how do we go about to changing this policy so the fine amount can be increased? We as concerned citizens of El Paso have to come together and begin a petition that states our concern about the large number of people who are still getting citations for talking/texting while driving. By collecting the signatures of concerned citizens to raise the fine amount from $500 to $1000 for people that are convicted of driving while distracted because of the use of a cell phone, we are on our way to voicing our opinion to law makers in El Paso County. One way to collect signatures is to create an event promoting awareness about how dangerous it is to talk/text while driving, and ask the El Paso Police Department to collaborate with the event. On a piece written by Daniel Borunda published in the El Paso Times website on March 22, 2011, Borunda wrote that 6,435 citations had been issued since the ban had begun back in April 2010. For me, this number is shockingly high, taking into consideration that many people have begun to use hands-free devices or wait until they are off the road to talk/text on their cell phone.
Many people are not aware that the problem with their compulsive behavior of having to use a cell phone at all times, even when they are driving, is caused because of their addiction to their cell phone. Raymond Gozzi, Jr., editor of ETC: A Review of General Semantics said, “The user is captured by the screen. The person is pulled into the Cell Phone Zone by some force that comes out from the screen. The Cell Phone Force magnetically grabs your attention, and pulls it onto the screen, away from your physical surroundings. (Gozzi, 2008)”, when explaining what happens to people who feel the need to always be on their cell phone. Losing yourself in the screen of your mobile device and not paying attention to your surroundings has to be taken seriously so the fatalities caused because of a distracted driver stay at a minimum. Since the fine of $500 for a person who is convicted of driving while utilizing a mobile device is not being effective, raising the fine amount to $1000 or more seems like a good move to scare away any temptations people might have of picking up their cell phone while driving.
References
-Borunda, Daniel (2011). Cell phone law enforced: 6,435 citations issued to drivers since ban began, El PasoTimes, retreived from http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_17669515
-Gozzi, Raymond Jr. (2008). The Cell Phone Zone. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, Vol. 65 (Issue 4) p.382-383.
-Welch, Karen Smith (2011) Bans on texting hard to enforce, police tell panel. Amarillo Globe News, retreived from http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-11-16/bans-texting-hard-enforce-police-tell-panel
*Pictures on page retreived from: http://iphone-connect.blogspot.com/2010/08/california-cell-phone-driving-law.html, http://www.w-cellphones.com/cell-phones-while-driving/
