Many cities and states are rapidly banning the act of texting while driving. If you are guilty of the occasional text while you drive, this article concerns you. Although we do not advocate drinking and driving, a text while driving does not have a consumption scale to use as a guide to decide if you drive, and one text message is all it takes to impact a driver’s focus. Many adults and teens hold entire conversations via text while they drive. The potential for something bad to happen as a result of this action is real. While there are many dangers associated with any driving distraction, text messaging has become very popular, and people of all ages are guilty of trying to text while driving. If you ask and they are not too embarrassed to admit to a situation, most people who have ever done so have a near accident experience they can share as a result of texting while driving.
Please do not allow yourselves to be distracted while driving, and please don’t text and drive. It’s not just the teens who hit the text button. Many adults text while driving for both personal and business reasons. Texting includes reading and responding to e-mail if you have a phone that can do so. Some companies have made it against company policy to text and drive while working or when driving a company vehicle. Since text bans are not yet nationwide, many companies are updating policies because they recognize the dangers associated with this issue, not to mention potential liabilities.
Even at a slow speed of 35 mph, a sudden impact to another vehicle, object or individual can be deadly. Parents who text while they have their children in the car are setting a poor example and need to change this behavior immediately. How important can a message be when you are driving? If you are meeting a friend, plan ahead and do not rely on texting to find a parking spot near one another. Agree to meet in an area of the parking lot and talk face to face to decide where to park. Better yet, agree to park as far out in the mall parking lot as possible and walk in together. You can talk about so many more details of a subject than what you would have been able to say in a text or two.
The costs of texting and driving can be very high. Some cities have fines upward of $650.00 if you are ticketed for this offense. It can also be expected that if you are at fault in an accident, your insurance rates will go up. If you have a fender bender, the insurance deductible to repair your car will also be out of your wallet. You could also face losses that are too terrible to fathom. The cost of a life is not worth the cost of one of the allowances from your text message bundle.
Text messaging is a good thing. Text messaging while driving is not. Please don’t text and drive.
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