Do cell phone bans (while driving) really matter? Do they change your behavior, or the behavior of people you know?

Their habits most people didn't. Then the law came in requiring people to have hands free kits. This actually did make a big difference when it came in.

Sellers of Bluetooth accessories had a boom on their hands and people changed their behaviour. The biggest change came though when companies such as the one I worked for began to receive legal advice from their lawyers, indicating that they may be held liable for accidents that people have if they were driving and answered a phone on company business. Overnight our work culture changed.

On Monday it was a good thing to call Jim if he was driving over to a client meeting, after all that was 'dead' time and from a company point of view it was getting more value out of him if he was talking on the phone. On Tuesday however Jim was told that he shouldn't be making calls while he was driving as the company considered it was more important to keep him alive! Further more we were told not to call someone if we thought they were driving, and if we did we should expect to get his voicemail until he stopped and could call us back.

The change was a dramatic one in terms of driving/phone use. And its not just our company. Its now no longer considered rude not to answer your cell phone while you're driving, in fact if someone can hear you're in a car people will check to make sure you aren't the one driving before carrying on the conversation.

From a safety point of view its great, and from a work point of view its better. The fact that the law isn't resulting in tickets from police officers isn't the point. Its where they are taken seriously by companies who then change their behaviour that it makes a difference.

That's why I was so disappointed about the story of Maria Shriver. It seems that she isn't taking this seriously, and that's symptomatic that California as a whole hasn't taken it seriously. I'm at a loss as to why she considers donating an old phone to a charity (however worthy the charity may be) as a appropriate action here.It's a nice thing to do but won't make the roads any safer at all.

In this case maybe the law needs to be tightened and actively enforced. Larger fines, possibly driving bans would be a way to get individuals to notice, and the threat of corporate manslaughter charges to get companies to change their cultures as well. Enforcing this wouldn't be problem.

In the case of an accident all you'd need to do is check if the Phone had been on at the time of the crash and check the phone records. In the same way that the police would check your alcohol limits if they had any reason to suspect you'd been drinking after a crash.

I think many people do take cell phone laws into consideration, especially if they try to obey the law at all times. Most friends and family members of mine use either head sets, Bluetooth, or have a cell phone stand attached to the dashboard of their car that allows them to answer their cell phone and keep the speakerphone on while talking. However, some do still reach into their pockets or purses for an incoming call and talk with their phone pinched under their chin.

I have to admit, I have been guilty of taking calls while driving in the past, although I generally never called anybody myself while operating the vehicle. On the road every day, there are a great number of people that I notice are using their cell phones while driving. Mostly I become aware of their using the phone after they have cut me off or are swerving over into my lane.

Talking on the phone does cause you to “multi-task� In a bad way and does not allow you to pay full attention to driving. However, I think texting while driving is far worse, because unless you absolutely know the position of each letter on the keypad, there is no way you can text without looking down at the phone and taking your eyes off the road.

Texting takes away too much attention from driving and nothing could be that important that it couldn’t wait to be texted when you have a chance to pull the car over or reach your destination. Sometimes it may be important to take an expected phone call (although you should still try to pull over and stop the vehicle if possible), but texting should never be permissible while driving. In our neighboring county, we just had an incident a couple of weeks ago where a texting teenager hit a mother crossing the street with her 6-month old in her stroller.

The mother sensing the oncoming car, gave the stroller a push to propel it across the street and let it roll to safety right before she was hit by the car. The mother, unfortunately, did not survive the incident, but her daughter in the toppled over stroller was okay. Very sad, and very unnecessary.

I think cell phone bans are about as effective as any other driving regulation. Perfect example: speed limits. We all know they're there.

We all know it's wrong to speed. Yet, we all speed. Maybe it's a bit easier to speed than to pull out a cell phone and have a conversation, but the underlying idea is the same.It's a cost/benefit analysis -- is the risk of getting stopped by the cops worth having the phone conversation?

Honestly, I think texting is more dangerous than just making a phone call. At least when you're on the phone, you're not fiddling with tiny buttons. But any such law would be incredibly hard to enforce, and would probably be just used as a convenient way to charge people with something.

It has been said that texting while driving is more likely to cause an accident than driving drunk. The new cell phone laws are a step in the right direction. There is no such thing as multi-tasking, only devoting less attention to each task you're doing.

Driving requires full attention, ALL the time.

People need to change their minds. Control on mind is the best way to avoid something or to gain something. Driving is important task because other lives on road could be is risk.

Sadly, I see cell phone usage while driving all the time, but luckily I also notice that the public acceptance grade of it is degrading. People start to talk bad about those that drive-and-call, similar to those that drink-and-drive. It's a slow process, but I think we're getting there.

Also, in The Netherlands, fines have been upped quite a bit, and starting next January 1th, all dutch police get the obligation to fine any car-driver they see with a cellphone in his hand. So, the catch-rate is increasing, and hopefully that will help. But, more importantly, I hope that people just start to realize how very dangerous their behavior really is, and the only way is if they find out the hard way.So, anyone who gets in an accident, and is caught using his cell-phone (easily check-able by tracing calls), should be treated similar to driving when drunk: automatic penalty, guilty of the accident AND no insurance.

That will teach them! And yes, this law should still be in place, but police should make work of upholding that law. Removing a law because police is too lax to uphold it is the wrong approach.

I think they do change behavior- by changing social norms. It has become too acceptable to talk while driving, and passing laws is the first step to making it no longer the "norm". (And , yes, when I drive in Connecticut, I turn off my phone).

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.