Wireless Telecommunication

Wireless telecommunication technologies are rapidly becoming a significant concern in regard to highway safety (Sundeen, 2001). Almost ninety million people subscribe to wireless telephone services, and eighty-five percent of those subscribers use their cell phones while driving. In 1999, two major automobile companies, General Motors and Ford, formed agreements with telecommunications companies that will increase wireless features to include concierge services, web-based information, online e-mail capabilities, CD-ROM access, on-screen and audio navigation technology, and a variety of other information and entertainment services. So, it?s full steam ahead for cell phones and wireless technologies despite overwhelming evidence of the hazards of using these devices while driving. Many drivers are incensed that safety advocates want to ban cell phone use while driving claiming that the laws would be an unnecessary infringement on their personal freedom. This is fueled by a variety of misperceptions such as: ? There is no evidence to support that using a cell phone while driving causes accidents. ? Cell phone usage isn?t any worse than other activities such as eating, putting on makeup, talking to other passengers in the car, tuning a radio, putting in a CD, reading a map or other common activities performed while driving. ? Laws already punish careless and reckless drivers, thus there is not need for cell phone legislation. However, the evidence suggests that cell phone usage does cause more accidents, is more distracting that other activities and that laws are needed to legislate cell phone usage when driving. A 1997 article published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) stated that cell phone users are four to five hundred percent more likely to get into traffic accidents than those who do not use them (Morgan Lee Dot Org, 2003). The NEJM article also revealed that the risk of having a traffic accident while using a cell phone is the...  
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