ecause the benefits outweigh the costs. Regulators believe that cell phones need to be regulated because the use of phones is on the rise and the public does not seem to be using phones with caution. With new phones coming out everyday that has features such as checking your email or stocks, regulators are concerned that phones will become even more of a distraction in the near future.Although there is opposition from most of the users of cellular phones, the question regulators must ask is whether or not users know the real cost of using a cell phone while driving: the cost to themselves, passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians. Some argue that education can teach users how to use phones with more caution and also to allow them to internalize the threat of a cost on society. However, many do not consider the possibility of losing their life or taking the life of another when they pick up their phones while driving. In one incident, Frederick Poust III was behind the wheel of his SUV when he decided to make a call. As he hit "send," the 27-year-old blew through a stop sign in rural Hilltown Township, Pa., and slammed into the side of a Grand Cherokee. In the Cherokee's front seat, Patricia Pena turned to see her daughter Morgan, 2, bleeding from massive head wounds . The next day, Nov. 3, 1999, Morgan died in the hospital; Pena had lost her only daughter. Poust received two minor traffic citations and later paid an undisclosed civil settlement. Pena went to bed and remained there for months. In another incident, supermodel Niki Taylor suffered from severe internal injuries because the driver of the car she was in leaned over to answer the phone. She was left in critical condition after the accident. Her driver admitted that answering that call was just not worth the risk but he had not known or thought of it at the time.Incidents like these show that some users do not have a full grasp of the costs involved in using a cell ph...
