I think the law in Iowa regarding cell phone usage should be changed. Many drivers, of all ages, talk on the phone or text while driving a vehicle. Cell phones are a huge distraction because the driver must take his or her eyes off the road to dial a number or text a message. At high speeds, even looking away for a second can cause a major problem. As one of the articles stated, while looking away from the road for five seconds at a high speed, the vehicle can travel the length of a football field! Any hazard within that length of time could prove deadly as the driver cannot react. Texting while driving has caused many deaths. It is astonishing to hear about a driver who has killed someone while texting and driving, like the train driver who killed about thirty people while texting his girlfriend. Many drivers believe that they are talented enough to text and drive because they do not have to look at the phone to text. They do not realize their peripheral vision has been depleted because they are concentrating on the phone.
The articles stated that most laws on cell phone usage have been targeted at sixteen to thirty year olds. Because of this, police officers are having a difficult time enforcing the laws because they do not know who is within the law and who is not. I think that these laws should be changed so that texting is illegal for everyone, not just the younger generation. It is just as difficult for someone outside this age limit to text and drive as it is for the people in it. It is just as much of a distraction. Police officers also do not know how to tell if someone is texting because it can look like a person is just using the speaker option and talking on the phone.
Texting should be illegal in Iowa because it would save the lives of many people and make our roads safer. Not only are these texting drivers harmful to others, but they are harmful to themselves too. For example, someone who stops at a stop sign and sends a quick text to a friend might not see the uncontrollable truck coming at him, and he would not be able to move out of the way. A law against texting would save a lot of people and make us all feel a little safer.