We have all seen it (or done it) – a driver weaving back and forth, driving through traffic signals, and you see the person (or is it you??) looking down at a cell phone and typing on its keys.
Texting has become one of the primary sources of communication, and its usage continues to increase. A study performed by the Pew Research Institute revealed that 72% of American adults text, and over 50% of teenagers send 50 or more text messages per day!1 Texting may provide a good alternate means of communication, but we all owe it to ourselves and those around us to do so responsibly.
According to the Automobile Association of America (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety, 88% of drivers believe texting and emailing while behind the wheel creates a serious threat to their safety (makes you wonder what the other 12% are thinking), while 25% of drivers admitted to texting or sending emails while driving.2
“Distracted driving” has become an increasing problem as the mechanisms for becoming distracted have also increased. There are three primary types of distraction according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
1. Visual: taking your eyes off the road;
2. Manual: taking your hands off the wheel; and
3. Cognitive: taking your mind off what you are doing.
Distracted driving includes not only texting, but also eating, talking to passengers, grooming, and changing the radio station. While all such distractions can endanger roadway safety, texting is the most dangerous because it involves all three types of distraction. According to the NHTSA, in 2009, 5,474 people were killed, and an additional 448,000 were injured, in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted driving. Drivers who use hand-held devices are also four times as likely to get into an accident that causes them injury.3
It’s clear that texting while driving poses a problem, but the question remains – what do we do about it? In January, 2011 the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a federal texting ban for truckers, providing for fines of up to $2,750.00 for truck drivers who text while driving a commercial vehicle. Earlier, in 2009, President Obama issued an Executive Order banning federal employees from texting while driving federally-owned vehicles. 33 states, plus the District of Columbia and Guam, have banned texting while driving. Despite several bills presented in the Florida Legislature to prohibit texting while driving, no such bill passed. Such bills ranged from implementing educational programs to levying fines.
Despite the lack of legal initiative taken by our Legislature, we must all take the logical, common-sense initiative to make our roads safer by practicing what we all seem to preach. If the vast majority of us agree that texting while driving creates a serious threat to our safety, and the statistics surrounding distracted driving supports this belief, we all must vow to not to text while driving to create safer roads for us all. This may seem overly simplistic, but keep that commitment in mind the next time you are driving and have the urge to pick up your phone to send a text message. The lawyers and staff at Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith are confident that the intended recipient of your text would prefer to wait until you stop driving to receive it, rather than run the risk of never having the opportunity to receive it.
The lawyers and staff at Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith are dedicated to not only helping those who have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, but also getting the message out about the dangers of texting while driving. Much like drinking and driving, texting and driving don’t mix.
1. Pew Internet. 2010. “Cell phones and American Adults.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Press-Releases/2010/Cell-phones-and-American-adults.aspx.September2
2. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. 2010 Traffic Safety Culture Index. http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdy/2010TSCIndexFinalReport.pdf
3. U.S. Department of Transportation, 2009. “Statistics and Facts About Distracted Driving.” http://www.distraction.gov/stats-and-facts/index.html
