Texting and Driving by Ashley Thomas (FGCU)

Technology has improved our lives in countless ways. We can communicate faster, easier, and more efficiently. Text messaging is a perfect example of this. Instead of picking up the phone to call someone, one can send a simple text without the hassle of an entire conversation. Unfortunately, this convenience has turned into a very real danger, as texting while driving causes more and more accidents every day. Statistics are showing that the price of taking your eyes from the road to your phone might be someone’s life.

In 2007, distractions such as using a cell phone or text messaging contributed to nearly 1,000 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers.  This is a very scary thought. Researchers believe that texting causes more accidents than making a phone call and using an mp3 player because it involves taking your eyes off the road and moving your fingers. In a research study done using a simulated driving course, the drivers who were texting were observed to slow down significantly and to swerve more than a foot outside their designated lane. Teens themselves have admitted that texting is, in fact, their number one driving distraction. Every year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. Texting and driving seems like an unnecessary risk that could potentially end your, or someone else’s, life.

Next time you’re out on the road, think about this: almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 are texting while driving. This should be reason enough for us not to text. Chances are someone next to you is texting, so we should be alert to their driving for our own safety. Texting is a distraction that could prove deadly. More information about its dangers needs to be made known to teens in order to break this fatal trend.

2 Responses to “Texting and Driving by Ashley Thomas (FGCU)”

  1. Hannah Rodriguez says:

    Texting and driving is becoming more and more popular but people are not realizing how dangerous it is. Some may say that its only a second or two with their eyes off the road and its not a distraction. However, I saw on a Dr. Phil segment once about texting and driving and they put a camera in a car with a young woman who would always text and drive and at one point she was driving with knee and texting on her phone and did not put her hands back on the wheel for about a minute and thirty seconds I think it was. The girl realized how dangerous this was and I only hope that all people who text and drive can realize how dangerous it is and awareness can be raised.

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