I'm guilty of it as I'm sure many of you are. Texting while driving. Whether its just a quick "hey" or a lengthy detailed account of your day, texting while driving is VERY dangerous. A 38 year old man was texting while driving in Oregon and ran smack into a train. Mind you, he was drunk as well, but still. Texting while driving and you hit a train? Isn't a train kind of hard to miss? The man survived and I sure hope he learned his lesson.
Texting while driving has become so popular that some states are considering making laws against it. Lawmakers in Washington are really pushing for a national ban of texting and driving especially after a 5 car pile up caused by a man texting and driving.
However, they are not just talking about banning text messaging while driving. They are also talking about banning cell phone use entirely while driving. While many surveys show that drivers that are talking on the phone are slower to react, I don't think a ban on cell phone use while driving will do much. It will be difficult to enforce with the new ear pieces that it seems like everyone has. You can't really tell if someone is on the phone, singing in the car, or talking to themself. I don't think a ban on cell phone use all together while driving will do much but waste tax payers money as law enforcement fumbles around trying to find ways to detect cell phones.
3 comments:
This is an interesting post because I text message while driving wayyyy to much. There have been several instances where I haven't even been looking at the road so I guess this is a good wake up call for people like me. I think it's a great idea to make a law against texting while on the road. Automobiles already lead to a multitude of deaths and injuries each year and texting while driving can only add to these already alarming statistics. On the other hand, I agree that eliminating cell phone calls while operating a car is too extreme. Cell phones in my mind do not affect a driver's ability to focus. Also, I probably do most of my talking while in the car because it adds meaning to otherwise idle driving time.
I see both points of view when it comes to banning cell phones in cars but I agree with mustang23 that it would be too extreme. People would be even more distracted because then they would put there cell phones in there laps trying to text without anyone seeing. I a solution is already being sought after. In most major cities headsets (handsfree what ever you want to call it) are a requirement otherwise you will get a ticket. It would be cool if you could say something and then the hands free headset would type it and send it for you. But besides that little tangent the banning of cell phones in cars will never happen in the future because its too much of integrated activity into our daily lives.
Plunky is right ot remind you of the difference between hands free cell phones which are legal and the ones that have been banned in some states. Hands free is the answer, since simply talking on the phone is not the problem; it's holding the phone, dailing the phone, and of course, texting, which requires way too much time with eyes off the road. One second can make a difference, and the difference could be your life.
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