enerating a Policy Proposal
Although some states and cities have passed laws to ban texting and
using handheld phones while driving, there is no current law to ban all
cell phone use while driving. However, according to the National Safety
Council (2009), 28 percent of all crashes—1.6 million per year—are
caused by cell phone use and texting by drivers. The mission of a new
national nonprofit organization called FocusDriven, patterned after
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is to make phone use while driving as
illegal and socially unacceptable as drunk driving. US Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood supports FocusDriven and its efforts: According to
the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, LaHood said this movement will become “an
army of people traveling the countryside” to push for bans on cell phone
use and tough enforcement (Schmit, 2010).
As a political advocate interested in this issue, you will be writing a
policy proposal that utilizes the current research to propose a solution
to the issue and submit it in this assignment.
Please note that your proposal is not an opinion/position paper, and
your conclusions need to be based on the scientific research you
reviewed earlier. Please follow the typical steps in proper academic
writing (planning, outlining, drafting, revising, proofing, and editing)
to generate the following proposal structure:
Introduction
In the introduction, you should set up the purpose for the proposal,
provide a bit of background on the topic, and present your thesis.
Policy
Now that you have researched a variety of studies (in M4: Assignment 2),
compile that information together to create a recommendation for policy
makers regarding cell phone use while driving.
1: In a one-page summary, compare and contrast the results of the
various studies regarding the cognitive abilities that are affected
during cell phone use while driving.
2: Using that research, develop and explain particular recommendations
for policy makers. For instance, restrict texting, or regulate the use
of hand-held phones. All your recommendations must be supported by your
research findings.
3: Based on the gaps in current research, describe the variables,
populations, and situations which you would like to see future research
address.
Conclusion
Review the important current research, your conclusions from that
research, and how the future could look in both policy and research.
Keep your goal in mind: To convince the reader to support your current
policy proposal and future research to examine this issue more closely.
Your proposal should be written in APA style (which includes a title
page with running header and a reference page), and free of
typographical and grammatical errors. The body of your proposal should
be 4–5 pages long.
