• Cell phones have become a nearly universal aspect of contemporary Western culture. In many locations, children of elementary school age regularly carry cell phones. Cell phones, however, are not always welcome, and in some areas cell phone are banned. The reasons for the bans range involve health and safety.
  
  

Bans While Driving

• Distracted driving is a major factor in serious and fatal automobile accidents. In the United States many locations have passed laws banning the use of cell phones while driving. Other laws allow cell phones to be used for conversation if they are connected to hands-free devices. Texting while driving poses a heightened risk because it involves taking one or both hands off the steering wheel in order to operate the telephone keypad. President Barack Obama issued an executive order banning texting while driving for federal employees in 2009. Teenagers are especially prone to text while driving.
  
  

Bans on Airplanes

• The original reason given for banning cell phones on airplanes was the risk of interference with sensitive cockpit equipment. Newer digital phones have been shown to present little or no risk to air navigation, though, and several airlines have lifted bans on cell phone use. There are usually still restrictions involved with on-board cell phone use, such as limitations to a particular network. The United States has continued to ban cell phone use on airplanes. The House of Representatives went so far as to draft a bill called HANG UP (H.R. 5788 Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace Act of 2008) although the bill never made it out of committee. With airlines such as American Airlines introducing on-board Wi-Fi service, some commentators believe it is only a matter of time before cell phone use is also permitted, especially if the airlines are allowed to charge fees.
  
  

Bans in Schools

• Schools that ban cell phones cite safety and privacy concerns as the major motivations for their decisions. For instance, cell phones have reportedly been used to call outside parties to intervene in a dispute between schoolmates. Other reports claim that cell phone cameras have been used to take and distribute nude photos of students, mostly girls, in school showers or locker rooms. Many parents have protested the bans, stating that their children carry cell phones for safety reasons.
  
  

Bans in Hospitals

• At one time cell phones were nearly universally banned in hospitals, with the rationale that they could cause interference to critical hospital equipment. A 2007 study by the Mayo Clinic, though, found that there was little actual risk of such interference. Hospitals in the United Kingdom have dropped their ban against cell phones, as have some hospitals in the United States. On the other hand, anti-theft screening devices have caused interference with implanted devices, with trips to the emergency room resulting. General risks of cell phone interference or of exposure to the radio waves emitted from cell phones have not been conclusively proven or disproved.