Tap, tap, tap. Do you hear that noise? It's the familiar sound of fingers tapping on cell phone pads.
For teens like me, texting has quickly morphed into the main outlet to communicate with friends, update social network status and stay connected with the rest of the world. It’s no surprise, then, that approximately 110 billion text messages are sent per month in the US – a vast increase from the 10 billion per month just three years ago. But in a society of constant entertainment and instant information, I think that teens who pair texting on their mobile phones with driving are steering into a potentially dangerous combination.
Car and Driver Magazine recently conducted a driving simulation test to determine the full effect of texting while driving a car. Their findings were quite unsettling. The results showed even using a straight road without any traffic, road signals, or pedestrians, and looking just at reaction times, texting while driving is even worse than drunk driving. The report concluded, “Both socially and legally, drunk driving is completely unacceptable. Texting, on the other hand, is still in its formative period with respect to laws and opinion.”
With such convincing evidence as to the negative impact of texting behind the wheel, it should not take a legal barrier for individuals – most notably teens – to realize the importance of putting the cell phone away while driving. Currently, nine states have laws on the books banning texting while driving for teens. Teenage drivers in all states across the country are held to much stricter driving standards, forced to pay higher insurance premiums, and are subject to much more scrutiny by police than adult drivers given their reputation as irresponsible drivers. I'm afraid that adding text messaging to the equation of distractions for a teen on the road will not only promote riskier driving techniques, but cause a backlash in which teen drivers are further monitored – and who needs that?!
The simple fact is that that text message you are sending about that hilarious movie you saw last weekend can wait – really, it can. With so much more on the line while driving – your life, for example – I believe there is no excuse for knowingly endangering yourself and others on the road.
Avoid Driving Distractions
- Pull off the road. Don’t drive while calling or texting.
- Use speed dialing or voice-activated dialing if you have to make a call while driving.
- Let your voicemail take the call. You can call back later when you are not driving.
- Know when to stop talking. If the conversation is long, emotional or stressful continue it when you are not driving.
- Don’t take notes while driving. If you don’t want to forget a note, use a tape recorder or pull off the road.
- Don’t eat or drink while driving.
- Groom yourself at home, not in the vehicle.
Two-thirds of teen texters are more likely to use their cellphones to text their friends than talk to them on the phone.
