Support ban on use of cell phones while driving

Illinois legislators are currently considering a law banning the use of handheld cellphones and driving. This law should be a no brainer. We should all be for such a sensible law.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways and an estimated 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that involved distracted driving in 2009. The biggest proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age group; 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving.

The agency says there are three main types of distraction; taking your eyes off the road, taking your hands off the wheel and taking your mind of what you’re doing. Texting is the most problematic, because it combines all three distractions simultaneously. However cellphone use is also a major contributor to distracted driving accidents.

We must all adopt a no-tolerance attitude on this issue. We need to pay attention to the task at hand while driving. Parents need to drive by example and have a zero tolerance for both impaired and distracted driving.

Put the cellphone down. Stop texting and driving. As an emergency department physician, I see every day how one moment’s distraction and one accident can change a life forever.

Charles Nozicka, Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Advocate Condell Medical Center

Libertyville