The New York Times highlights a study conducted at The University of Utah over the last 18 months. The study shows that
“college students using a sophisticated driving simulator showed an eight times greater crash risk when texting than when not texting... In the moments before a crash or near crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds looking at their devices — enough time at typical highway speeds to cover more than the length of a football field.”
“I think it's a huge problem that impacts teens now”, says Teen Editor Laura. “Why? I know that I feel bad if my phone vibrates and I don’t respond. We don’t feel like it takes our eyes off the road for too long, we feel like we can multitask and still be safe. I have tried to stop one of my friends from texting while driving.”
The Times goes on to state that
“Over all, texting has soared. In December, phone users in the United States sent 110 billion messages, a tenfold increase in just three years, according to the cellular phone industry’s trade group, CTIA… But, in the case of texting, laboratory and real-world researchers say the results are significant — from both scientific methodologies, texting represents a much greater risk to drivers than other distractions.”
About her personal texting and driving, Laura goes on to say, “I never text while driving, partly because I know it's not safe and partly because I am just not that skilled! My parents don’t text while driving either, but I do have friends that send me text messages when I know they are driving home from school... I have tried to stop one of my friends from texting while driving. I send her a message from the bus usually that says "drive safe!" and then I don’t text her for at least fifteen minutes until I'm fairly sure that she's home. Removing that temptation is helpful because friends don’t let friends drive while texting. If I am in the car with one of my friends and her phone vibrates, I ask her if she'd let me read it and type her response for her. Or I turn it off.”
As it currently stands,
“Thirty-six states do not ban texting while driving: 14 do, including Alaska, California, Louisiana and New Jersey. New York legislators have sent a bill to Gov. David A. Paterson. But legislators in some states have rejected such rules, and elected officials say they need more data to determine whether to ban the activity.” –NYT
Tiffanie I would definitely try to stop people from texting while driving - I already do! When I know friends are texting while driving, I tell them to text me when they get to where they are going. If I am with them, I tell them to stop and give them the chance to put the phone away themselves. If that fails, I tell them that if they touch the phone again I’m going to take it away! I usually end up holding on to it until we get to where we are going."