Text messaging has revolutionized the way people interact with one another. It allows people to talk to anyone at anytime, anywhere they want. However, in some states texting has become illegal while driving. The law is intended to save drivers from the text menace that is said to be worse than drunk driving.
The law sounds good, but how will police officers enforce it? As long as drivers do not hold their phone above the window, the police will never know they are texting. Sure there will be idiots that will get caught, but the average, run-of-the-mill person is not going to get caught. Police officers may have to come up with an alternative way to catch the texters. Maybe cameras can be set up along the road, but the cost would be too high set up enough cameras to fully enforce the law.
People value the relationships texting establishes with their peers too much for them to let a law get in the way of it. They dont think it’s fair. They think their freedom of speech is being threatened, but the law is only there to protect them while they are driving. Teenagers are the main texters with around 50% of them admitting to habitually texting while driving. Not surprisingly, the biggest influence on how teens drive is their parents. Almost two-thirds of high school teens say their parents talk on a cell phone while driving, almost half say their parents speed, and almost a third say their parents don't wear a safety belt. Cell phone related crashes makeup 85% of all crashes, so some sort of solution should be created. The law will require police officers to redirect some of their resources from preventing and solving other serious crimes. Many texts can be urgent but the law says they can not be answered leading to many unanswered emergencies.
The law would improve the situation exponentially if it could be enforced in a cheap, time efficient way. There is a large need for a way to stop texting and driving, and a law could provide that with the...