Texting while driving hazardous habit
by Tausha Rosen, staff writer
Text
messaging is the new frontier for communication.
At all times, a phone can be seen in a
person’s hand, thumbs typing away a message to a friend. At
the mall, in school, even in the car, people are sending
text messages.
When driving down the road at night, it
isn’t uncommon to see a driver hugging the shoulder a little
too closely, or bouncing back and forth from line to line.
Alcohol is usually the substance to blame for these actions.
But now, the situation is a little
different. Dangerous driving is not seen only at night
anymore. Daylight brings a new type of bad driving, and
alcohol is not the only culprit.
Text messaging and driving has become a
common activity in our daily routine.
It
resembles drunk driving in appearance, easily detected when
behind someone on the highway. Weaving, staying too close to
the shoulder, driving too fast or too slow, and even the
occasional ride up onto a curb are just a few examples of
driving mishaps.
Teenagers and young adults are the
primary abusers of the text-driving craze. Talking on the
phone while driving has become less popular, and text
messaging has taken over. It is the easy way to communicate
for many people. You can type a quick message, put the phone
down, and continue what you were doing without being
disturbed by a telephone conversation.
Most people know this is a dangerous
activity. When typing a message, you suddenly look up to see
that you are about to run off the road. You gasp, correct
your steering, and continue to text, even though an accident
easily could have occurred.
People just do not care, and the
authorities are beginning to take notice. Since 2005,
several proposals for banning texting and driving have been
made. Washington was the first to lead in the prohibition,
followed by New Hampshire, and the city of Phoenix, Ariz.
Recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to outlaw
text-driving in California. It will be enacted starting Jan.
1. For this state, $20 is the fine for the first offense,
and $50 for each subsequent violation.
States need to continue passing these
laws. Too many people die from car-related accidents each
year. Let’s not add more shall we?
Text messaging causes many automobile
crashes each day around the country. People have been
seriously injured, or even killed.
A major crash occured in Los Angeles,
Calif. occurred on Sept. 12. Twenty-five people were killed
when a Metrolink engineer drove a commuter train into a
freight train. The driver sent a text message 22 seconds
before the collision, and The Federal Railroad
Administration quickly banned the use of cell phones by
railroad employees.
Many individuals are recognizing these
dangers, but nothing is being done in most of the country to
prevent them. As long as people are free to do so, they will
continue text messaging and driving.
I admit that I have done it before. I
picked up my new Blackjack smart phone I received for my
birthday and happily began texting everyone to tell them
about my new gift. I was driving down 82nd Street
in Lubbock, when I nearly collided with an elderly woman who
was driving the vehicle beside me. That small incident was
enough to stop me from doing it.
It seems so simple, and many drivers
text message in the car and make it from point A to B
without incident. People steer with their pinky fingers,
letting their thumbs do the texting work, or lean back and
steer with their knees.
If you have made it home without
crashing, consider yourself blessed, because it only takes
one time to make a mistake. It only takes one time to hit
that woman next to you, or run off the road with your
friends in the car.
Laws need to be passed throughout the
whole country - particularly in Texas, due to the state
already having the highest number of deaths per year in
car-related accidents.
Since our state has not made a move yet
to protect us, we need to protect ourselves. So the next
time you get a message in the car, don’t pick up the phone.
Nothing is more important than your life, and what your
friend has to say can wait until you are parked safely in
your driveway.
Photo By Britni
Palomino/Plainsman Press
