Your phone goes off, you’ve got a text message from someone—but you’re driving. For some drivers, the curiosity about who could be texting them at that moment is more important than thinking about the dangers of taking their eyes off the road.
According to Distraction.gov the (Official Government Website for Distracted Driving), “Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent—at 55 mph—of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.”
When it comes to texting and driving, it’s not like “practice makes perfect.” Drivers who text are not only putting their own lives at risk, but the lives of others in danger in the process. Being an irresponsible driver is not only the stereotypical “speed demon,” or road-rage vehicle operator. It is also those who are careless enough to pay more attention to their phones than the freeway.
Erin D’Aleo / Graphics Editor
No matter what age or what class of license you have in New Hampshire, texting while driving is against the law. The state does allow the use of cellphones while driving, but the law particularly states that, “A person operating a moving motor vehicle who writes a text message or uses two hands to type on or operate an electronic or telecommunications device, is guilty of a violation. A person does not write a text message when he or she reads, selects, or enters a phone number or name in a wireless communications device for the purpose of making a phone call.”
The violation is $100, yet this fine is not stopping people from texting. According to Distraction.gov, “A quarter of teens respond to a text message once or more every time they drive. Twenty percent of teens and ten percent of parents admit that they have extended, multi-message text conversations while driving.”
The odds of getting into an accident are increasing exponentially. Thus, this creates more concern for other drivers on the road. According to Distraction.gov, 41 states have made this activity illegal, and yet people each day die from accidents revolving around distracting driving.
We encourage everyone to think about whether a text message is more important than another person’s life. Advertisements banning texting and driving are out there. Cell phone companies are even on board, promoting safe driving campaigns.
It is a privilege and a huge responsibility to operate a vehicle, and with that, a strong obligation to adhere to safety issues comes into play. If we are choosing to ignore how dangerous texting and driving can be, then we are running the risk of endangering not ourselves, but innocent lives.
The Equinox wants to remind KSC that the texts can wait.
