Can cell phone use while driving be compared with drunk driving?

Can cell phone use while driving be compared with drunk driving?

Although some states and cities have passed laws to ban texting and  using handheld phones while driving, there is no current law to ban all  cell phone use while driving. However, according to the National Safety  Council (2009), 28 percent of all crashes—1.6 million per year—are  caused by cell phone use and texting by drivers. The mission of a new  national nonprofit organization called FocusDriven, patterned after  Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is to make phone use while driving as  illegal and socially unacceptable as drunk driving. US Transportation  Secretary Ray LaHood supports FocusDriven and its efforts.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, LaHood said that  this movement would become “an army of people traveling the countryside”  to push for bans on cell-phone use and tough enforcement (Schmitz,  2010). As a political advocate interested in this issue, you will be  writing a policy proposal that utilizes the current research to propose a  solution to the issue and submitting it in Module 5.

Annotated Bibliography: Effect of Cell Phone Use 

Before you can write this proposal research, you will need to conduct  initial research on the science behind this initiative. For this  assignment, use the Argosy University online library resources to locate  research reports from peer-reviewed journals that discuss the effects  of cell phone use on vision, attention, perception, or memory. In  selecting at least five research reports from peer-reviewed journals  relevant to the topic, make sure they address one or more of the  following issues:

  • How do texting, handheld phones, and hands-free phones compare with each other in their effects on driving?
  • How do other, traditional distractions compare to cell phone use in  their effects on driving (such as eating, attending to children, talking  to passengers, listening to music/news, etc.)?
  • Can cell phone use while driving be compared with drunk driving? Why or why not?
  • What other variables (such as age) can affect driving while using a cell phone?

Based on your reading of the five articles, create an annotated  bibliography for each of the five sources. Each annotation should  consist of the APA reference entry followed by a paragraph-long summary  of the articles. In your summary, provide answers for the questions  below. For the last question, think about how the research results could  be generalized to fit other environments or not be generalized.

  • Summarize the main ideas in the reference. What were they investigating?
  • How were the studies conducted? What was the sample size? Is it appropriate?
  • Were the studies conducted in the real world or was a simulated environment used?
  • How might these methodological considerations affect the research  findings and the conclusions drawn from them? How does this article fit  in with your paper? How did it influence your own ideas about your  paper?

Your annotated bibliography should be at 3–4 pages in length. Download the annotated bibliography template. This document will help you complete your paper more successfully.

Be sure to include a title page and reference page listing your  articles. Use the following file naming convention:  LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.

By the due date assigned, deliver your assignment to the Submissions Area.