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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has offered a recommendation to states to ban all cell phone use in cars. It is the first such major recommendation in the United States, and is causing much of discussion (by design).
The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that hand-held cell phones are currently banned in nine states and texting is banned in 35. New York bans both.
The recommended ban, however, goes whole-hog and includes banning the use of cell phones in cars even while hands-free. Portugal and Germany have this kind of total ban, while 30 nations settle for partial bans.
The NTSB is worried that the slightest distraction from a driver's primary duty, which is to focus on the road, is dangerous because all it takes is a split second for a mistake to cause a crash, which of course can never be taken back. Especially with the advent of cell phones with movie, email, and gaming technology, an increased effort to focus on the road is needed now more than ever.
The NTSB does not think this recommendation will gain much traction in the short term. They think that, like drunk driving and smoking, a cultural aversion to the practice requires a massive attitude shift. With this in mind, they hope their recommendation will open a national dialogue among people who generally view cell phone use as dangerous in cars anyway.
Lawmakers will likely be averse to such a radical idea, especially with opposition from the phone industry, but the official recommendation may give a legitimating cover to potential legislative efforts.
As a practicing wrongful death and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with crashes that originate in causes like distraction every day. If you have experienced related problems, I want you to pick up the phone and call me. I can help.
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If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
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