Stop Texting and Driving

You’re driving in your car when the vehicle in front of you begins to slow down before it starts to swerve left and right. You assume it’s a drunk driver, but as soon as you safely change lanes and pass them, you notice the driver is texting. Why is this a problem? Well, first off, the driver is putting their life in danger. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the Wireless Communications Device Law, which prohibits texting while driving, took effect on January 1, 2009. This law means that you can’t read, write or send a text message while you’re driving. What text message is possibly worth your life? A “Hey, what’s up?” can definitely wait. If you’re telling your best friend a lengthy story about your crazy night, you should pull over to the side of the road. Not only does someone who texts while they drive endanger themselves, they also endanger their passengers, other drivers and bicyclists on the road and even pedestrians. You may think hands-free texting, or speaking into the phone and having a voice application (such as the iPhone’s Siri) transcribe your words into a text message, is a better way of “safely” texting and driving.
It isn’t.
According to ABC 7 News, Jim Frazier, a Bay Area assemblyman and freshman state lawmaker, proposed Assembly Bill 313 on Feb. 12, 2013, to ban hands-free texting. Voice applications such as Siri don’t always pick up the correct words, so you have to take the time to proofread the message before you say “send.” I don’t know how fast you think you can edit your text, but if you’re as blind as a bat like I am, that phone’s going to be practically glued to your nose. You may think that it will only take five seconds to check your spelling but you never know what can happen in five seconds when your eyes are off the road. According to distraction.gov, the U.S. government’s website for distracted driving, texting while driving makes a car crash 23 times more likely to happen.
These distractions while driving...