Why Texting and Driving Don’t Mix
Everyone has received a text message while driving. It is just something that happens. With the ease of sending a text message, people have the ability to send out the quick questions or statements without needing to call someone. However, without hands free technology inside of the vehicle, answering the text, or even reading the text, becomes dangerous. Tammy Way discovered this, sadly, a year and a half ago. While on her way home from school, she received a text from a close friend. She pulled out her phone, checked the road, then looked down at the text. As she started to respond type with one hand she looked up, to see a pickup truck driving straight into the front of her vehicle.
From the accident she suffered massive bone fractures throughout the lower portion of her body. To this day, she is paralyzed form her waist down and, while doctor’s are hopeful she should receive some feeling back in the rest of her legs, they are not sure yet if she will ever be able to walk again. All because she wanted to respond to a text from her friend.
Texting is one of the most dangerous activities a person can do while driving. It completely takes a person’s eye’s off of what is in front of them, and studies suggest it takes a person a full five seconds to look down and read the message. This does not even include the response to the message. Anything can happen on the road in five seconds, which is exactly why it is so important to avoid texting while driving. In fact, these same studies suggest the ban on texting laws have not helped reduce texting while driving, but instead made the accidents worse. This is because people hold the cell phones further down in their laps to avoid showing off their phones along the wheel and potentially receive a texting while driving ticket. Unless a person has a vehicle that is equipped to read the text message out loud and then dictate a written response from the driver’s spoken word, a person should always avoid texting while driving. It can help both save lives and prevent sustained injuries.
Statistics show that people who text and drive are 23 times more likely to be involved in a car accident. Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70 year old and, even though reading and answering a text may only take five seconds That is enough time to travel the length of a football field.
One police officer related a story of a case he worked where a teen driver flipped his pickup truck because he was distracted by his phone. His girlfriend was calling him repeatedly, so he reached over to turn off the phone, and while he was reaching for it, he flipped his pickup. He wasn’t even texting when his phone caused his accident, which shows just how dangerous a moment of cell phone distraction use can be in teen drivers.
By now, we all know that texting and driving don’t mix. Most states have spoken up and created laws specifically prohibiting texting and driving; currently 41 states and the District of Colombia prohibit text messaging while driving for all drivers. But is it just texting and driving that’s illegal, or doesn’t that include other phone-related activities? Here’s everything you need to know about why texting and driving don’t mix:
Texting and Driving is Prohibited in Most States
All drivers are banned from texting while driving in most states. In fact, the ban against texting and driving in is a primary law, which means an officer can ticket you for the offense without any other traffic violation – you don’t have to be pulled over first for speeding or a different violation.
In total, 41 states currently ban text messaging for all drivers – it’s probably only a matter of time before texting and driving is against the law across all of the United States. Here [ATTY: Insert State Specific Legal Info] In [State] you could face a $150 fine for driving and texting, or a $300 fine if texting and driving causes you to have an accident.
It Isn’t Just Texting and Driving That’s Banned
The law that bans texting while driving doesn’t just apply to texting. The texting ban also covers: browsing the Internet, and sending or receiving emails. It doesn’t just ban these activities on cell phones, either – the law also covers computers, tablets and other similar electronic devices. Additionally, most states prohibit all drivers under 18 from using a cell phone while driving – not just for texting, but for making phone calls, as well.
Distracted Driving Laws Have Been In Place for Years
Texting while driving is such a huge issue because it leads to distracted driving. But distracted driving laws have been on the books for years. In most states, it’s illegal to do anything that causes a distraction while driving, including adjusting your radio, inputting an address into your GPS, applying makeup or even eating. Anything you do in a vehicle that causes you to be a less safe driver is something you can be cited for. However, texting has quickly sprung to the forefront as a primary cause of accidents due to distracted driving in recent years – particularly among younger drivers – so new laws are being passed to address this specific issue.
When Can You Text in a Car?
If you need to text, send an email, read an email or browse the Internet while you’re driving, the only legal way to do it is by pulling over and fully parking. You can’t do it at a stop sign. You can’t do it while you’re waiting for a stoplight to change. You can’t do it when you’re stuck in stop-and-go traffic. The only time it’s legal to text and drive, or do any of the other “banned” activities while driving, is when you’re fully parked.
Why is Texting and Driving Such a Big Deal?
In a noteworthy case in Kansas, a 16-year-old girl has been charged with manslaughter after a texting-and-driving collision. In the Kansas case, the girl was texting on her cell phone when she lost control and collided with a car driven by a 72-year-old woman, who was killed in the crash. She was certified to stand trial as an adult, and she was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the second-degree, third-degree assault and texting while driving. She faces a total of four years in prison if she’s convicted of the involuntary manslaughter charge.
Texting and driving is something that Georgia – and states all over the country – are beginning to take very seriously. If you need to send or receive a text message, pull over and park. Otherwise, you could be facing fines – or worse if you’re involved in an accident that causes damage, injuries or a fatality.
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