The Cons of Texting and Driving

There are a numerous amount of careless things a person could do; texting while driving is in my personal top five. So many people are glued to their phones now that they can’t go five minutes without their fingers frantically clicking away at the buttons or laughing obnoxiously to someone on the other line. Too many are dependent on technology, so much so that just answering a simple text could result in a devastating accident. Something that most don’t think about while driving is how using your cell phone can distract you for just enough time to realize that you truly have no time left. By the time the phone is put down and the driver looks up, it is way too late. If a person is caught texting or talking on their cell phone while driving, it is my opinion that they get their license taken away from them.

I wonder if anyone ever stops to think that taking their attention away from the road is a bad thing. It was taught in Driver’s Ed to always keep your eyes on the road and just how do you suppose you’ll do that if you’re enthralled by the world’s latest technology? The National Safety Council estimates that drivers using their cell phones and texting cause at least 1.6 million car crashes and 2,600 deaths each year. That is at least one million people injured and 2,000 families devastated and stricken with grief just because someone couldn’t wait until they got home to answer a stupid text message. Just think about how you could be the cause of someone’s death, their hysterical parents, and their distraught family members because you felt that your friends’ message had to be answered right away.

An excuse that is used a lot to justify texting or calling someone back is “It’s an emergency!” If such an event should occur, it should be common sense to pull over and answer the urgent message or call. Think of it this way; you’re saving more than one life by pulling over to answer your urgent call or message, rather than causing an accident and most likely not being able to get back to the person in need.

Some drivers think that they’re immune to bad things happening to them and that kind of cockiness is exactly what lands them and others in the E.R. Being overly confident with your driving and thinking that you can sneak a text in during a red light is not a very smart thought. It does not matter when or where you are, as long as you’re driving, the phone should be put away.

The bottom line is that paying attention and keeping your eyes on the rode are main instructions taught to you in Driver’s Education. If you cannot follow the simplest of tasks listed in turn for your privilege to drive, you should not even have the privilege of having your license. Texting while driving is such a stupid thing to do and a stupid way to lost your license, why would you want to risk it? If you have your license, you should have sense enough to be an adult and take responsibility to keep yourself and others safe on the road.