TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014
An average of one in five drivers admits to texting while driving and that rate will only climb. I have to admit, I have texted while driving, read emails while driving and responded to emails while driving. For some reason in this day in age and the digital world we are living in with smart phones, it is like we have to respond instantaneously to someone's message or email. We here that ding or see our phone vibrate and something in our brain tells us that we must look at that message and then more times than not, we feel like we have to respond to that message.
Texting while driving presents a serious public safety problem and will become more severe as more texting teens become licensed drivers and more adults add text messaging to their battery of cell phone communication abilities. We already have so many other things that are distracting us while driving like GPS, eating while driving, putting on your makeup and trying to play music either on your smart phone, Ipod or radio. It comes down to each individuals own responsibility to STOP texting while driving and wait until you are at your destination to reply to other's messages or emails.
My own daughter who is 14 years old and already planning for the day she turns 16 and gets her drivers license will have to adhere to a very strict "no texting" policy while driving. I'm not sure how I'm going to monitor this quite yet but I will do whatever I can in my power to make certain that my daughter does not even touch her phone while driving. If I have to turn off texting for the first 6 months of her having her drivers license, then that is what I am prepared to do. I don't believe teenagers see the severity at which texting and driving is until it is far to late and the accident has occurred.
Some insurance companies are offering parents contracts for their children to sign, committing to a NO texting while driving policy or their will be severe consequences. Talk to your children about the ramifications of texting and driving and take a good look in the mirror if you are someone that texts or emails while driving. This will become one of the biggest causes of fatal car accidents we will see over the next decade and I can assure you that penalties for texting and driving will be just as harsh as drinking and driving because it is certainly just as dangerous.