Texting and driving has become an epidemic for people of all ages in the United States, and sadly I am a part of it.
An estimated 20 percent of drivers are sending or receiving text messages while behind the wheel, and this number rises for individuals between 18 and 24.
There have been many times that I have seen people texting and driving while on the highway and at stop lights. It is a dangerous habit and very distracting. This type of habit has probably caused many accidents, however specific data is unknown at this time. As a teen driver I know the temptation to text and drive is high. Even a quick glance at the phone can distract you just enough that you cause a car accident.
In June there was an accident involving the deaths of five teenage girls. The driver was believed to be texting when they crashed into a tractor-trailer. Although I’m guilty of DWT, I believe there should be a serious law to keep both teen and adult drivers from driving while texting. If there are laws passed to prevent this, many people can be saved from having car accidents or near misses. The driver is not the only one affected either, if they hit someone that person is affected as well. The texting law would be for personal safety and the safety of others.
As of right now there is no serious crash data linked to texting while driving sciences do not want to pass a law forbidding it. There are currently only two states that prohibit text and driving and those are Washington and New Jersey. Five states that wanted to pass a no-texting law were Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Tennessee and Maryland, but their respective legislators prevented the laws from being passed. There are bills still pending in California, New York and Oregon that may have a chance of being passed.
In 2006 a report issued by the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that 78 percent of crashes involved a driver who was distracted.
Perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt said it best: “When will our…