Essay 275 – Cell phone use by drivers should be made illegal

GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 275

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Using a cell phone while driving is dangerous because it causes the driver to become distracted. Therefore, cell phone use by drivers should be made illegal.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

The pervasive use of mobile phones while driving is perilous because it distracts drivers. This is why a section of society calls on the government to ban the use of cell phones while driving. In this case, I completely agree with the view.

Using a mobile phone while driving distracts drivers, thus putting people’s lives in grave danger. The reason is that holding a handset takes one hand away from the controls, causing terrible accidents more likely. To put it another way, when a driver is driving and talking on a cell phone, he is dividing his attention between driving and talking, making it growingly difficult to devote attention to driving. In fact, talking or texting on mobile phones vies for our attention while driving, and it adversely impacts our ability to drive safely. Researchers, for instance, in one study explored that mobile phone users were more apt to rear-end collisions and unresponsive driving than people who had had a few drinks.

Besides, conversations on a hands-free phone while driving proves to be as dangerous as holding a handset. In simple words, drivers still remain momentarily distracted, even though they use a hands-free phone. This means that talking on a hands-free device also distracts drivers. Consequently, they take longer to respond to hazards, thus making poor decisions on speed and distance from other vehicles or pedestrians. For example, one study neatly demonstrates that when a driver makes conversation on a hands-free phone, he tends to move his eyes less around the driving scene. He uses car mirrors less frequently and is prone to focus more on the scene directly ahead of him rather than to the sides of the view. He is less aware of what is taking place in his peripheral vision, thus failing to react to hazards in the peripheral vision leads to accidents. So allowing drivers to use mobile phones while they are behind the wheels is like allowing them to get involved in accidents.

In conclusion, talking on the phone while driving is a lethal act, regardless of whether drivers use hands-free or hand-held phones. Therefore, governments should enact laws against phone conversations or texting while driving.