Law, Business and Society 11th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 68

Nearly 70 percent of young drivers text behind the wheel and 48 percent admit to accessing the Web while driving. The federal Department of Transportation reported that 3,331 people died in distraction-related crashes in 2011. Research at the University of Utah found that cell phone conversation is a much more dangerous distraction than passenger conversation. A Houston Chronicle editorial argued for measures to curb driving while using a cell phone:
Even a cursory glance at the statistics is evidence enough that swift, comprehensive action must be taken on a national level to curb this reckless, potentially deadly, behavior: Driving while using a cell phone incurs a fourfold greater risk of crashing, equivalent to driving while drunk (with a 0.08 blood-alcohol level). For texters, the risk is eight times greater. A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which videotaped truck drivers over 18 months, showed that texting made them 23 times more likely to crash or narrowly avoid a crash.
No state forbids all cell phone use while driving, but 39 ban text messaging for all drivers, and 10 states forbid all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving. Are these restraints effective The evidence shows little, if any, reduction in cell phone use while driving, despite mounting evidence of the dangers. Of course, the real problem may be distractions of all kinds, but survey results find 96 percent of Americans agreeing that cell phone use should not be permitted while driving.
Technology companies are rapidly bringing powerful information technology to car dashboards. Government regulators argue that those products are slowing their efforts to reduce hazards from distracted driving. According to National Transportation Safety Board chair, Deborah Hersman:
If the technology producers focused more on what is safe than what sells, we'd see highway fatalities go down.
Do you agree that technology companies are irresponsibly putting profit before safety in developing ever more advanced, and doubtless distracting, technology in cars Explain.