Road Texting: An Accident Waiting to Happen

Greg Owen

Attorney

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Along with the ability to send text messages while driving comes the likelihood of more traffic accidents. Psychologists at the University of Utah say that texting behind the wheel is 50 percent more dangerous than talking on a cell phone while driving. Think about it, if someone was to use a typewriter or a laptop while driving it would be clearly insane. Although, the devise is smaller, texting is really no different. It is just as distracting.

There was a story reported on Wednesday on The Early Show relaying the clear message that the practice of texting while driving can cost lives - seems obvious enough. There are some horrible stories out there for example "On the day before Thanksgiving last year, high school senior Patrick Sims was driving less than a mile from his Denver home and texting a friend, when his girlfriend suddenly screamed. When Sims looked up, he was just inches from a cyclist in the bike lane." It was too late. Sims killed the 63-year-old grandfather and at the same time changed his life forever.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Company conducted a survay wherein 37 percent of teenagers admitted that texting is distracting while driving - how could it be otherwise. When you think about that survay, that 37 percent are just the teens admitting texting is distracting. What about the teens who are still under the misguided notion that texting does not take away from driving at all. Using the maze of logic it took to come to that conclusion should be grounds to take the car away from a teen who has demonstrated a clear inability to reason and a likelyhood of an auto accident. As for Sims, he now talks to teens about his crash while texting and the life he took. He no longer has his license or cell phone. He is on probation and has served 10 days in jail.

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