No Freedom for Fingers

by Megan Lechtenberg

About ten years ago, there was no such thing as text messaging. When people wanted to communicate with one another, they would call the other on a cell phone and make arrangements. Now days, one of the most dangerous aspects on the road is texting while driving. Many people seem to think texting while driving is important, but what they don’t realize is that it is putting both them and other drivers in danger. In my opinion all text messages can wait until you are fully stopped. There is nothing more important than your life.

“It’s not just a teen thing.” There are also adults who text and drive to communicate with others. Aren’t parents supposed to teach their children not to text while they are on the road? How are kids supposed to learn from their parents if they are the ones breaking the rules? Granted there are many websites to look at and see how dangerous this is, but are teenagers really going to sit down and look up this information and share it with their group of friends? Well of course not. Everyone needs to realize that texting while driving is something that needs to be stopped, which is why most states are making it a law where texting while driving is banned.

Texting while driving is just as bad as when you are drunk driving. I like to say that at least when you are drunk you have your eyes on the road; whereas if you’re texting and driving your eyes are on your cell phone. Research shows that texting while driving is 4 times worse than if you were to be drinking and driving. The consequences of cops catching someone drinking and driving are very costly, but what are the consequences of cops catching someone whom is texting and driving? It’s very clear that if someone whom is texting while driving was to see a cop they would instantly put down the cell phone; so really no one can get caught if they were to be texting and driving unless they were to get in an accident.

Statistics for 2010 will make your jaw drop when you read this. In the United States, 81 percent of the Americans confess they text while driving a vehicle. Virginia Tech Driving Institute researched that while patron’s text and drive, they are 23 time more likely to put themselves in an accident or get severely injured. So wouldn’t you feel a lot safer if everyone put down their cellphones? You would think that more people would agree, but in reality more people think texting while driving is the best option. Texting while driving is the biggest distraction the road has, but who can forget about the other distractions while people are driving? There are people eating and driving, turning the radio station, putting on lip stick, grabbing something from a purse or wallet, etc. As far as I could remember, my mom, dad, brothers, and friends have always done other aspects while driving. They do anything that might have been listed above! However, does that make it okay for me to do those things? It would only make sense because I am use to seeing those aspects occur and it’s what I’m used to. I might change the radio station when a song comes on that I dislike or maybe eat a little snack while I am driving home for the holidays and I need something to hold me over, but texting while driving is a different issue. That is one subject I refuse to touch. 

Not many people realize how many accidents there have been in the past couple of years because of texting while driving. Back home there was a fifty year old man whom was driving up to Minnesota for the weekend on his motorcycle and on the his way there he was hit by a vehicle. Now sure we hear a lot of car accidents happen, but after the police investigated they found that the driver was texting her husband what he wanted for supper that evening. Before this accident had occurred, she was caught text messaging another time by police, but they had given her no ticket. She must have thought if she can get away with it once, then she can get away with it again.

I saw a commercial on the television of a texting saying “Yeah t” and then later it had someone say “This was the last thing my son had looked at before he died in a car accident.” When I saw that commercial, I had goose bumps all over my body. I never would have thought a commercial could have so much impact on me. It makes me wonder “What couldn’t have waited until he got there?” or “Who was he texting that was so important for him to text message?” I am sure his parents thought the same thing after they found out he was texting while driving. I was even more surprised when I found out the commercial was sponsored by AT&T. I never pictured a cell phone company supporting to ban text messaging while driving.

Texting Laws
Red= Banned Completely
Yellow= New drivers
Grey= None

As I mentioned earlier more and more states are trying to ban texting while driving, and most have had success while doing so; however most states don’t have the same law. For example in Iowa you can't have a cell phone for text messaging, however it's allowed for you to make phone calls on. In Missouri you can text message while driving if you are twenty-one years of age or older. All the states that have laws make no sense! What does it matter if you are 21 or 18? Do they think you have more experience on the road compared to a 16 year old? Even if they do, it shouldn’t matter anyway; texting while driving is dangerous. If a 25 year old gets in a car accident and kills someone the driver has every right to walk away with no ticket. I think they need to re-think laws and ban all texting while driving.

University of North Texas’ Fernando Wilson states “There is a lot of media attention on the topic in general, but it’s difficult to find specific policy solutions.” Wilson could not be any more correct. I agree that media covers a lot on this subject, however isn’t that a good thing? Of course it is! People need to know about the statistics of texting while driving keeps increasing as the years go by. I believe the media needs to cover more accident and real life stories if people want to have a huge impact on the topic. It also makes you wonder, how many people will actually stop texting while driving? I went around and asked all 5 of my roommates and all of them agreed that they would continue to text and drive; and this was after I had shown the AT&T commercial. Anne Fleming mentions how difficult it may be to catch someone if they are texting and driving and the drivers whom are texting and driving believe they won’t get caught if they do text and drive. The first statement I have to disagree with because I always notice people texting and driving while I am driving. It’s pretty obvious when their eyes aren’t on the road and they are looking at their laps instead. However, I believe the second statement is true. People texting while driving believe their chances are very slim for getting caught. They have been doing it for years, why would they get caught now? A study done in 2009 by the Automobile Club of Southern California states after they banned the texting while driving, their recordings have doubled since! If people won’t stop now, they won’t ever stop. If the laws don’t work, then what will?

People may argue that texting while driving is safe if you keep your eyes on the road every so often, but in conclusion they're wrong. If people could put the cellphones down and concentrate while driving, there would be less problems on the road. As I mentioned earlier, I have noticed my parents get distracted from other things while they drive, but never once have I seen them text and drive. Children learn from their parents; if a child notices their parent is texting while driving, they will have a greater chance of doing it when they get old enough to drive. It's a problem that needs to be stopped. If you don't believe me, watch this video