subject: Texting People And Driving [print this page] I admit itI admit it. I have used my cell phone (repeatedly, in fact) to text and send emails to people...while driving. No, it is not something that I am proud of, but it is something that I am trying to work on not doing quite as often. As most other people can tell, when you use your cell phone while driving to text or send emails, unless you are really good at it, you inevitably have to look down at your phone in order to use the keypad as well as make sure that you are texting the right person. However, when you are glancing down at your cell phone to send out the text, the one thing that you are not doing is focusing on the road. As I have found out a few times, one minute you are driving within your designated lane and in that split second when you have finished your text, suddenly you have drifted over to someone else's lane. Lucky for you, there was no one there.
You see, in North Carolina, while there are many city-like areas, there are also quite a bit of rural areas that are still around. Not only this, but on these rural roads, many people choose to exercise in the form of running, walking and/or bicycling along the roadways. Because of this, and because of the fact that there are still so many roads that do not have shoulders and/or sidewalks, you have to be extra careful because the next time that you start to drift over to the right, you may be hitting an actual person instead.
The worst culprits for this fairly new texting and driving phenomena are new drivers and young adults. However, older adults are not exempt. For example, I know for a fact that my uncle has sent me numerous email messages from his Blackberry while he has been driving. You have to remember that even if you manage to catch yourself while you are texting and driving, you reaction may set off a chain reaction in other drivers around you- as your vehicle struggles to stay in its lane. An example of this can be seen whenever someone changes lanes due to the fact that the think that the person in front of them is about to become involved in a car accident.
In the state of New York, if you are caught using your cell phone at all without a hands-free device and a police officer happens to see you, plan on paying hefty fine. The last time that my father was caught without his hands-free device for his cell phone, he was charged somewhere around $150. to this day, he has probably racked up at least $500 in cell phone-related tickets. But then this also brings up another great question- Will we ever learn to put down our phones and put our hands on the wheel?
