States who also refuse to take up there bill could lose 25 percent of their highway funds, which is a pretty good idea, if people don't comply with you, you take their money.
People are at an increased risk will texting, tests have shown that when you text the risks of crashing are 23 times greater then if you weren't. When texting your reaction time is slowed down,you begin to read a text that your good buddy sent you saying that he broke your favorite guitar, you begin to fill yourself with contempt and rage wondering why you gave your treasured possession to your friend in the first place and at that very moment, you crash into a little old lady doing 30 on the freeway. This would have been easily avoided if you had not used your phone in the car, If you weren't wearing your seat belt, your probably dead, even if you survive the crash, your going to have to come face to face with insurance, you might even by charged with vehicular manslaughter,
So do yourself a favor "Get your hands off the cell phone and back on the wheel."
I completely agree with the idea behind this law, though I can't say I'd expect much for enforcement. Texting can be done well below the window line and there are plenty of other things that can similarly distract a driver besides texting. Enforcement will have a very difficult time proving that someone was indeed texting short of getting into their phone, which of course would be unconstitutional.
ReplyDeleteInstead I'd like to see better education on the dangers of being distracted by driving. It is a very serious danger and it really comes down to personally responsiblity, which I feel we should try to instill in young adults anyway.
Just a personal side note, but my sister totaled her car because it drifted while she was texting. Luckily she was alright and no one else was involved, but it definitely changed my habits immediately. I'd be very happy if others didn't have to experience that or worse to learn the lesson.
I personally have started enforcing this law on my own time by slapping any of my friends foolish enough to text while driving my precious cargo around town. However, sometimes this just results in a fist fight while driving which can potentially be more dangerous than texting while driving, so I understand the need for the bill.
ReplyDeleteI remember late one night while driving home from a certain nocturnal escapade I found a car in front of me lazily listing about the road. Assuming that they were far drunker than I, I kept my distance and cursed the low tolerance of foolish high schoolers. However, when I pulled alongside said worthless person I found a highschooler- expected, texting with both hands on his phone perched atop his steering wheel- disgusted surprise. I wanted to get out of my car and beat him with his own phone, but he drove away and I drove home to eat an entire family size bag of Doritos, angrily.
Ban texting while driving and beat whoever gets caught doing it, or at least give them a fine. Not only is it dangerous, but it is annoying.
I agree with this proposed bill completely. I am usually glued to my phone texting at all points of the day though I usually don't text back while driving, it's almost impossible for me to resist looking at any new messages that I get while driving. I recently was driving and received a really long text message and was trying to read it while making periodic glances at the road, and failed to notice an up coming traffic light changing from green to yellow. When the rest of the traffic started to slow down, I continued at the same pace and if I hadn't looked up at the last second to slam on my breaks, I would have been in a big mess wrecking my car, the car in front of me, and possibly the car in front of him.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I cannot sympathize with those that support this bill from the standpoint that has been the car in front or behind the person consumed in their text and multimedia messaging, I can vouch from the participators point of view, that this new bill is not only a good idea, it is necessary. The almost accident I had probably has happened to many other texters out there, not to mention the accidents that actually do happen as a result to texting. And this bill could eliminate most, if not all, of those almost and actual accidents, making the roads and highways a much safer place to drive.
I definitely see eye to eye with Hwong and his take on texting while driving. I’ll be honest and say that it’s unfortunate that I’m the one who’s actually doing the texting and driving. Even being the one to fall into this habit, I think it’s fantastic that Senators are pressing for a bill to ban texting while driving. It’s a far fetched plan, but it would be time well spent to push towards this goal because it would reduce the number of accidents and even deaths.
ReplyDeleteEvery teen or even adult needs a slap on the wrist because this isn’t a good habit and it’s not something that can easily be broken. Even knowing how dangerous this act can be I still find it nearly impossible to stop texting, it’s now second nature to pick up my phone every time I hear it buzz. The whole texting and driving thing is definitely a phenomenon; no one can really explain why it’s such an addicting habit. It really isn’t that big of a deal to go a day without texting your buddy and yet a good majority of people flip out, including myself when their phones dies or the person they’re texting doesn’t immediately text back.
People are way too caught up in the whole idea of constantly keeping in contact with their peers and I’m guilty as well. I strongly hope that this new effort to punish people for texting while they are driving becomes effective fast because many people die or become severely injured because of this ridiculous habit. It won’t be easy by any means to get people, especially teens off their cell phones but it’s a good goal. Personally, if I was more educated about the dangers and other statistics of texting while driving it would be more encouraging to stop. Other than that, I’m not sure there is much we can do to prevent it because the use of your cell phone can easily be hidden by keeping it beneath the window and wearing a pair of sunglasses. None the less, texting and driving should be banned unquestionably. It’s a safety hazard not only to the ones texting but to all fellow drivers.