Kaitlyn Hart
Life Editor
Watch out, Pocatello. If you’re privy to the temptation of talking, texting, scrolling through social media or even changing the music on your phone while you’re behind the wheel, now is definitely the time to kick that bad habit.
The Pocatello Police Department recently began issuing tickets on March 11 to those who violate the new “hands-free” laws that were passed in December 2018.
According to the city ordinance, “Any handheld or portable electronic device capable of receiving, producing, displaying, or providing wireless data or voice communication” will be prohibited to use while driving. However, exceptions will be made for devices that are primarily used for navigational aid, if the device is in a “voice-operated or hands free mode,” and for emergencies.
In order to enforce these new rules, the punishment for violating the new addition to the city ordinance is a hefty fine and possible legal action. According to the Idaho State Journal, “A violation is punishable as an infraction with an $80 fine for the first three offenses. A fourth violation within two years would be punishable as a misdemeanor.”
Studies have shown that by introducing legislation that keeps cell phones out of the hands of drivers, people are far more attentive and alert while driving, which decreases the rate of vehicle-related injuries and deaths. According to a 2015 study by the Pocatello Police Department, police officers found that the use of cell phones while driving was recorded in about 33 percent of the citations for inattentive driving.
Though these studies show that hands-free driving can reduce vehicular accidents, some people don’t see it changing the way that people drive during their everyday commute, since to many people, using your cell phone while driving has become a habit almost akin to second nature.
“Yeah, I use my phone to change the music all the time,” says ISU student Emma Banks, who often drives to campus. “I don’t think anything will change. Everyone will keep doing the same things.”
In a test to see if hands-free driving was in fact safer than driving with a cell phone, the popular “debunkery” TV show MythBusters put this to the test back in 2015. By using a 360-degree virtual driving simulator connected to a real vehicle at Stanford University, the show tested a group of people, some using hands-free mode, and some not, to see which group of people would do better while trying to pass a drivers test.
According to the Washington Post, their findings show that “In a simulation involving 30 drivers, exactly two managed to pass a driving test while talking on a cellphone. Of the 15 drivers using handsets (a cell phone up to their
ear), one passed, five failed by driving the wrong way and nine failed by crashing. Of the 15 talking hands-free: one passed, six failed by driving the wrong way, and eight failed by crashing.”
According to their study, Mythbusters and Stanford University found that it is no safer to use hands-free mode than it is to talk with your cell phone up to your ear.
Although it might seem tempting to check just that one Snapchat, or just that one text, please remember: you’re endangering not only your own life, but the lives of everyone else on the road. The proven and most effective way to keep yourself and everyone around you safe is to make sure your phone is out of sight, out of mind. Arrive alive.
