The Extreme Dangers of Texting While Driving

Another way to reduce and help stop the bad habit of texting while driving is to spread the dangers of texting while driving through the media

. Commercials, big Billboards, and have famous people speak out on the issue, are all great ways to help get the message across. I have seen a few commercials about the dangers of texting while driving, but the message presented is just not effective. People address the issue more as a joking matter rather than a serious matter. If there is going to be an end on texting while driving, people need to take this issue more seriously.

"On January 3, 2008, Heather Leigh Hurd was killed by a truck driver who allegedly was texting while driving" (Texting while driving," 2010). As a result of this tragic incident her father, Russell Hurd "has been actively supporting a law in various U.S. states called Heather's Law that would prohibit texting while driving" (Texting while driving," 2010). Without a law banning texting while driving, the problem will still be escalating. The best way to deter and correct the issue is to have parents talk with their children about the problem with texting while driving.

Some of the statistics are eye boggling. "Half of drivers 16 to 24 say they have texted while driving, compared with 22 percent of drivers 35 to 44" (Texting while driving," 2010). The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study founded that "text messaging had the greatest relative risk, with drivers of heavy vehicles or trucks being more than 23 times more likely to experience a safety-critical event when texting. The study also found that drivers typically take their eyes off the forward roadway for an average of four out of six seconds when texting, and an average of 4.6 out of the six seconds surrounding safety-critical events" (Texting while driving,"2010). "The study revealed that when traveling at 55 mph, a driver texting for 6 seconds is looking at the phone for 4.6 seconds of that time and travels the distance of a football field without their eyes on the road" (Texting while driving," 2010). Imagine the impact at that high rate of speed.

Too many lives are at risk due to this careless habit of texting while driving. The only way to help minimize the problem is to take action as those discussed earlier. It is good to learn from the dead rather than be dead. Texting while driving is a serious problem and a danger to society. Let's learn a lesson from the blond sixteen year old girl's story, Dr. Frank Ryan's story, and Heather Hurd's story. These unfortunate deaths can and should be prevented. The best ways to start is by putting that Blackberry down and wait until you reach your destination to pick it back up. Who knows? It could save a life.

The Extreme Dangers of Texting While Driving

By: Jonathan Nguyen

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