A lot of cars with newer technology and innovations are making their way to the market each year, most of these new vehicles feature safety features that should keep the road safer for all road users, however, that does not seem the case as the death toll resulting from traffic is not declining. One major factor that studies show is the use of mobile phones while being behind the wheel.
Traffic Death Toll Are Steadily Rising In The United States
Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have requested phone companies to incorporate a so-called "Driver Mode" in their mobile phones. The proposal is for the feature to only allow a limited number of apps to be accessible while driving. The goal is to minimize or avoid any driver distraction and to focus only on driving and on the road. This was proposed after studies show that highway fatalities have increased to 10.4 percent in just the first six months of the year 2016. Reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics have also shown that teens are 10 times more likely to be killed in a car crash than that of older and more experienced drivers.
An AT&T survey held in 2015 mentioned that 70 percent of drivers admitted to using their phones while behind the wheel, the majority of which are teens. Several state laws are banning drivers from using their mobile phones while behind the wheel, however law enforcement have not been strict in mandating the law. Some laws also only require the driver and the front passenger to have their seat belts at all times, and seatbelts or booster seats for children seating at the back is only required up to a certain age.
Driver Mode App In Cellphones May Not Be That Helpful
Cellphone manufacturers like Apple Inc. or Samsung may be successful in the future with adding a driver mode to their mobile devices, however, that success will all be not if the problem is the driver's discipline itself. The driver mode may only work by manual activation, which means that it is still up to the driver to decide if they want to be distracted or not. Of course, no one would want to be in an accident, especially a fatal one, but the challenge here is some people's short attention span that will prevent them from focusing on the road ahead and can easily get distracted by their smartphones.
Recommendations from the National Safety Council to reverse the trend of traffic fatalities include never using a cell phone behind the wheel, babies and child seats should be mandatory, drivers should have zero alcohol or drug influence, and to expand teen graduated license laws. Adolescents are three times more likely to be involved in a car crash. Most of these deaths were preventable but the lack of discipline in drivers caused it to rise significantly. Aside from adding state laws, law enforcers must be as strict as they can in enforcing the given laws. The education system must be increased as well and have more programs for teens to know and be educated about the dangers of distracted driving. Everyone should be made aware that it is not only their own life that gets put in danger whenever they get distracted, but also every other innocent human being that is present in the area.
