Talking ourselves to death: An exploratory study of public health issues involved in driving while talking on cell phones

Background: Significant public health issues have developed in reaction to a variety of technological innovations that involve driver distractions on American highways. As cell phone use while driving continues to increase, there is a comparable increased need for the general public to be protected against inherent dangers of driving while distracted (DWD). Method: Content analysis and comparative data analysis were employed to review the “available current state of knowledge” defined as data for the 2005 to the present time-frame. Collected data was organized in four categories including (1) justifications, (2) applied legislative measures, (3) attitudinal motivations, and (4) comparisons to driving under the influence (DUI). Results: Overconfident of multi-tasking abilities, Americans continue to ignore published research data and cell phone (DWD) has increased A synthesis of evidence provides a summary of documented evidence to separate myths from realities. Conclusions. Distracted drivers are a clear and present threat throughout the nation. The general public needs to be better educated and persuaded about the inherent dangers of (DWD). Additional research should be focused on comparative data involving multiple cultural comparisons of what has become a significant global public health problem. The DWD problems of today appear to parallel the obvious dangers of public smoking. Years ago it seemed absurd to think Americans would ever concede to public laws controlling smoking, but legislative action has had a significantly positive result. Likewise, it seems absurd to continue to allow Americans to drive while using cell phones. Strong, effective legislative action is needed and recommended.