Since the inception of cell phones, people have been able to take their phones with them, instead of leaving them at home. Cell phones are important tools to have during an emergency, but they can also cause accidents while driving. Instead of using cell phones as a tool for emergencies, they are using them as a social tool while driving. More than 2,000 people die in Canada each year from talking on their phone while driving. Studies have shown that people who talk or text on their cell phones cannot pay attention to the road 100 percent. Talking and texting on a cell phone takes a person’s reflex capabilities away. They are unable to react quickly enough to avoid an accident.

Most accidents that happen are fender benders due to a driver suddenly slamming on their brakes. When a person slams on their brakes, the person on the cell phone does not see it in time, and is unable to react appropriately. Studies have also shown that when a person talks on their cell phone while driving, everything in their peripheral vision disappears from view. If a pedestrian crosses the street, many people who are not paying attention will not see them. Texting is becoming far worse while driving because the person has to take their eyes off of the road in order to text. Most head-on collisions have happened while a person was texting.

New laws have come out to prevent people from talking and texting on their cell phones while driving. People are no longer allowed to talk on their cell phones without an ear piece, so that a drivers hands can be free to hold on to the steering wheel. Texting while driving should never happen at any time. A driver taking their eyes off of the road at any time can cause horrific accidents. With as much traffic on the roads, especially in large cities, texting while driving is a potential catastrophe waiting to happen. Many people may believe that they are perfectly capable to drive safely while texting, but studies have shown that driving while texting is just as harmful as driving while intoxicated.

For safety sake, a person should not talk on their cell phones or drive while texting until they get to a safe place where they can pull over. This reduces the chances of an accident, and therefore lowers the risk of raising Ontario vehicle insurance rates, as well. Wearing an ear piece to talk on a cell phone is much safer while driving, but a person’s attention span is still not 100 percent on their driving. There are many things happening at one time while a person is driving. Drivers should be on the lookout for people pulling out of shopping centers and changing lanes on a continuous basis. Anything that takes a person’s attention away from their driving is a potential accident waiting to happen.